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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2005 
PRI Dissidents Tap Montiel
 Chris Kraul - Wire services
| | The group, which has been nicknamed All United Against Madrazo, chose Montiel over four others. |
A dissident wing of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) announced Thursday that Gov. Arturo Montiel of the State of Mexico will be its candidate to oppose front-runner Roberto Madrazo for the former ruling party's nomination for next year's presidential election.
The loosely organized group, which has been nicknamed All United Against Madrazo, chose Montiel, 61, over four others, two former governors, a serving governor and Sen. Enrique Jackson. In recent weeks, Montiel and Jackson spent enormous sums on advertising to increase their name recognition.
Montiel is expected to face Madrazo, the party's president, in a nationwide primary in November or December. The PRI's 71-year dominance of the Mexican presidency was broken by the 2000 victory of Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN).
The announcement took place on the eve of Madrazo's expected resignation Friday as party president, which will be followed by his formal announcement that he will seek the PRI nomination. Madrazo narrowly lost the party's presidential nomination in 1999 to Francisco Labastida.
As president of the party since 2002, Madrazo helped revive the PRI after its crushing loss to Fox. But he is a divisive figure within the ranks and even party loyalists fear he can't win a nationwide election. Earlier this year, PRI opponents to Madrazo's candidacy came together to agree on a process to select an alternative candidate and vowed to support whoever won.
Some analysts question whether the four losing aspirants will remain loyal to Montiel, or whether they will make deals with Madrazo or even mount their own campaigns.
In addition, Elba Esther Gordillo, the teacher's union leader and bitter Madrazo foe, is a wild card. Gordillo is scheduled to replace Madrazo as PRI president.
Gordillo last month formed her own party and it is not known whether she will support Madrazo, Montiel, or break away from the PRI altogether, taking the votes of many of Mexico's 1 million plus teachers with her.
"This is not a victory for Montiel but a collective victory, and in a special way for my colleagues," Montiel said gesturing to the four losing politicians, who assembled at a hotel for the announcement. "We are going to demand with all our firmness that the (PRI nomination) process be democratic, transparent, fair and acceptable to all of us." Although Jackson was favored by some people within the party as the best consensus builder, Montiel was thought to have an edge due to the enormous political war chest he built up as governor of the State of Mexico, the country's richest and most populous.
Other aspirants were former Tamaulipas Gov. Tomás Yarrington, former Hidalgo Gov. Manuel Ángel Núñez Soto, and Coahuila Gov. Enrique Martínez.
Times researcher Cecilia Sánchez contributed to this story. |
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