 |
|
|
 Editorials | May 2006 
Analyst Lambastes Hopefuls
 Jonathan Roeder - The Herald Mexico
| | Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, presidential candidate of Mexico's left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), listens during a meeting in Mexico City. (Reuters/Daniel Aguilar) |
Well-known political commentator and analyst Denise Dresser on Thursday painted a grim picture of the political climate 45 days before the presidential election.
The three leading candidates and the president were the main targets of Dresser´s criticism when she spoke at a breakfast organized by the American Chamber Mexico and attended by several hundred Mexican and international business leaders.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) has become complacent and lost his edge, she said, while. National Action Party (PAN) candidate Felipe Calderón is selling out to corporate interests. She accused Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) hopeful Roberto Madrazo of resorting to outdated, old-style politics to win and added that President Vicente Fox´s inability to stay on the sidelines is polarizing the electorate and putting stability at risk.
Dresser acknowledged that recent negative media spots, paid for by the PAN and branding López Obrador as "a danger for Mexico," have helped to propel Calderón into the lead. The ads have portrayed López Obrador as a volatile extremist who would bring back the economic instability of past decades.
"The big question is no longer whether or not Mexico needs to seek an alternative model, but whether or not López Obrador is dangerous," Dresser lamented.
Amidst the campaign against him, López Obrador has been unable to respond decisively, Dresser said. She added his decision to skip the first of two presidential debates before election day on July 2 has exacerbated his troubles.
"During the last four weeks, López Obrador has been tripped up not only by the obstacles that have been placed in his path, but also by his own feet," Dresser said, noting that his strategy of distancing himself from the other candidates - and hinting at a moral superiority over them - has backfired.
She also slammed Calderón´s decision to back a controversial new media law approved by the Senate in March. Critics say the bill disproportionately benefits the two major broadcasters, Televisa and TV Azteca.
Dresser accused Calderón of supporting the bill in exchange for favorable coverage from the networks - and suggested that this would hinder him from governing effectively if he were to win the race.
"What could happen is the same thing that happened with Fox," she said. "He made so many promises to established interests (during his campaign) that he couldn´t confront them afterward. He made so many backroom deals that he can´t govern in plain daylight."
But she reserved her harshest criticism for Madrazo and the PRI, which ruled for 71 years until Fox won the presidency in 2000. She likened the party to a bunch of cooks, desperate to come up with a recipe to regain Los Pinos, the presidential residence.
"No matter how hard they try to work together, it´s amazing to see how everything comes out all wrong," Dresser said, referring to Madrazo´s sagging poll numbers and recent party infighting. "The chefs are fighting, the sauce is curdling, the soufflé isn´t rising and the filets are burning."
In November, Madrazo´s opponent in the PRI primary stepped down amid allegations of ill-gotten funds - charges that have since been dropped.
Elba Esther Gordillo, head of the powerful teachers union that was once a faithful PRI voting bloc, was prevented from assuming the party´s presidency by Madrazo last year. She has since taken up a scathing media campaign against him.
A stream of politicians has abandoned the PRI to seek greener pastures - in many cases lucrative congressional candidacies - with rival parties.
Meanwhile, she said President Fox´s support of Calderón - a sensitive subject since PRI presidents named their successors for decades - could spur opponents to question the legitimacy of the elections.
"Each time Fox uses the weight of the presidency to try and determine who should win on July 2, he puts July 3 at risk," Dresser said.
She called on voters to demand better strategies from their candidates, and to think about what the country needs "with a cool head and a calm heart."
"(You may have decided who you´re voting for), but I hope we don´t stop making demands, both before and after the election." |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us