By JESSICA GUERRERO MORELIA, Michoacán — More than three decades since its foundation by politician Jorge González Torres, the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM) has managed to ride the partisan crest of Mexican politics, fluctuating like a chess piece between the different political currents in the country. But despite being one of the longest-standing parties in Mexico’s modern democratic
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By KYLIE MADRY Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has long been disliked by members of the opposition parties, who formed the country’s ruling class until AMLO and his National Regeneration Movement (Morena) took power. That distaste is turning into open revolt, as the president faces threats from the rightwing National Anti-AMLO Front (Frena), the newly formed Sí por
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By RICARDO CASTILLO In 10 separate gatherings of the so-called Federalist Alliance, the governors of as many Mexican states held meetings to demand that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) not drastically cut their income in the 2021 national budget. They also protested against the recent elimination of 109 federally funded trusts that sprinkled money into their states. In tandem,
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Suddenly – but not unexpectedly – the once-powerful National Education Workers Union (SNTE) leader Elba Esther Gordillo is back on track to regain the presidency of Mexico’s two-million-member-strong union, the largest in all Latin America. During the administration of former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018), Gordillo was thrown in the slammer on several charges, including embezzlement
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Slowly but surely, Mexico is preparing for the inevitable upcoming political transition. The surge of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) political party from scratch to the most powerful party in the country in a four-year period caught everyone by surprise. Suddenly, the political scene is confronted again with a one-party system, which has not been seen in Mexico since the 1970s,
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By RICARDO CASTILLO A small incident provoked by a well-known journalist highlighted a problem that is beleaguering the current Mexican electoral process. Over the past weekend, the news that political columnist Ricardo Alemán had been fired by two television stations was news. Curiously enough, Alemán was not fired for any content in his two political programs. He was fired for forwarding
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By RICARDO CASTILLO In the ongoing Mexican election campaign battle, it’s supposed to be time for the lull before the storm. Except, it isn’t. During this intermediate period between the pre-campaign that came from Dec. 14 to Feb. 11, pre-candidates made known their intentions of running for office. Right now, in the “inter-campaigns” period, the now officially nominated candidates are not allowed to
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Some Mexicans just don’t like the way the electoral procedure is being carried out by the National Electoral Institute (INE). The problem is that those disgruntled Mexicans are blaming the INE for what they perceive as irregularities in the process, but the procedure was designed by Congress, and the only way out of this long and
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By RICARDO CASTILLO There is no doubt that there is racial sensitivity in Mexico and it can take on many different meanings, including political ones. In case you’re wondering what racism has to do with Mexican politics, let’s start from the beginning of a complex story mixed with religious fervor and political greed. It should be obvious by now that the political party led by Andrés Manuel López
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By RICARDO CASTILLO The Mexican presidential hopefuls are haggling over everything – from the price of corn tortillas to fuels. But there is still one issue that remains that is crucial for them to make a definition on, and that’s the recent Internal Security Law (LSI), approved by Congress but sent by President Enrique Peña Nieto to the Supreme Court
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