 |
|
|
 Editorials | At Issue | August 2006 
Different Factions Vie for Control of the PRI
 Nayeli Cortés Cano & Carlos Ordóñez/El Universal
Following the crushing defeat in the July 2 election, a number of internal factions are vying for control in the once-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
For the moment, the party remains under the control of Roberto Madrazo, the party´s presidential candidate who garnered only 22 percent of the vote.
According to César Hernández and Sabino Bastidas, both researchers for the Center for Investigation and Development (CIDAC), a Mexico City-based think tank, the PRI is currently comprised of five groups that are competing among one another to come out on top following the party´s internal elections this fall.
One of the strongest groups, they said, is headed by Senator-elect Manlio Fabio Beltrones, who will head the party´s faction in the upper house. Beltrones has also reportedly distanced himself from Madrazo, who has been largely discredited by his poor showing in the presidential contest.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Unity wing of the party - created last year to produce a presidential candidate to face Madrazo in the PRI primary - has seen its influence wane, Hernández and Bastidas said. The group´s leaders are Nuevo León Gov. Natividad González and Sen. Enrique Jackson. Jackson is angling to capture the PRI presidency when Madrazo ally Mariano Palacios steps down.
However, the Democratic Union - playfully dubbed by the media during the 2005 PRI primary "Everyone United Against Madrazo" - has succeeded in getting one of its members designated as head of the PRI faction in the lower house. That member is federal Deputy-elect Emilio Gamboa.
The group also includes Sonora Gov. Eduardo Bours, Durango Gov. Ismael Hernández Deras, Veracruz Gov. Fidel Herrera, Tamaulipas Gov. Eugenio Hernández and Sinaloa Gov. Jesús Aguilar Padilla.
Most of these governors reportedly have close ties to Elba Esther Gordillo, the PRI´s former secretary-general who was ousted from the party recently for publicly campaigning against Madrazo during the election.
Gordillo, who wields tremendous influence within the powerful teachers union, had a bitter feud with Madrazo over control of the party.
The CIDAC experts said Gordillo could still impact the party´s direction, even though she has been formally expelled.
Meanwhile, the group of southeastern governors who have traditionally been closely associated with Madrazo have been largely discredited, Hernández said. Their leader, Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz, is facing a political crisis in his state, with angry teachers and activists demanding his resignation and holding protests against him since June.
Another group is headed by Beatriz Paredes, the former Tlaxcala governor who launched an unsuccessful bid for the Mexico City mayorship. Her supporters, however, are largely based in Mexico City where the PRI is weak, the analysts said, which minimizes her influence over the party. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us