OPINION

PRI Deputy Carlos Miguel Ayse DAmas. Photo: Google

By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS

Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Deputy Carlos Miguel Aysa Damas’ political suicide on Easter Sunday, April 17, may have turned out to be all in vain.

After having “sold out” to Andrés Manuel Loóez Obrador’s (AMLO) leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morean) party by voting in favor of the president’s controversial electricity reform bill — which would have prioritized the use of dirty carbon-based energy sources over non-polluting private alternatives — in exchange for his father, former Campeche Governor Miguel Aysa Gonzáles, being ratified by the Senate as Mexico’s ambassador to the Dominican Republic (DR), it turns out that his dad might not get to his diplomatic spoils after all.

Not only did the bill, with or without Aysa Dama’s vote, have about a snowball’s chance in hell of passing (it was defeated by 223 against votes from all the other opposition deputies, thus blocking Morena from garnering the two-thirds majority it would have needed to rewrite the Mexican Constitution in order to ratify the initiative), but it seems that the Dominican Republic isn’t that keen to receive Aysa Dama’s father as Mexico’s envoy.

On Monday, April 18, Dominican Deputy Director of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) Luis Abinader called on the government of President Luis Abinader to reject the appointment of Aysa González as Mexican ambassador to the DR, saying that his presence would constitute an “embarrassment” for the Caribbean nation.

According to reports in the Dominican press, Polanco made the appeal to Abinader at the behest of the PRI, which is more than a little annoyed with Aysa Damas for his quisling vote.

“We support the call made by the federal deputies of the PRI from Mexico for the Dominican Republic to reject granting the approval of (Aysa Gonzáles) as ambassador,” wrote Polanco in his letter to Abinader.

As of late Tuesday, April 19, Abinader had not yet responded to Polanco’s request, but public negative sentiment against the former Campeche governor in the DR was growing steadily.

If the Dominican Republic does reject Aysa Gonzáles, as it is entitled to do, then his son’s sacrifice would have been for nothing.

Easter Sunday has always been about crucifixions, but usually they are not self-executed.