What to expect if the PRI wins the
Mexican presidency? This is a question that has been raised since the federal
campaign started several weeks ago.
This fear seems legitimate observing
what the PRI did while it was in power for around seventy years (1929-2000): human
rights violations against political opponents, recurrent economic crises due to
populist policies, cooptation of the media, etc. Some people might defend the
candidacy of Enrique Peña Nieto stating that his party was the one that undertook
the first set of structural reforms to step out of the crisis in the 80’s, that it
passed the electoral reforms and also that recognized its defeat in the federal elections
of 2000 and 2006. In sum, that the PRI is a new party. However, governors of
the PRI behave like they are living 40 years ago: endemic corruption, huge
increases in the debt, accusation of receiving millions of dollars in bribes
from drug gangs, crushing of the opposition and manipulation of local
elections, or just mere incompetence.
It is also noticeable Televisa’s, Mexico’s
main media network, and some editorial groups’ preference for
Enrique Peña Nieto over the rest of the candidates; which resembles a lot to the
former partisan news programs like “24 hours”. The coverage of the news is so
partial that “El Sol de México”, a newspaper group, even labeled the candidate’s visit
to a private University as a triumph, when in reality he was severely questioned
and even chased off the premises.
Despite the fact that he has
compromised to undertake the structural reforms necessary to achieve economic
growth of 6 percent, representatives in the Congress associated with him
blocked the labor reform. In addition, Romero Deschamps, PEMEX union chief, and
Elba Esther Gordillo, Education union chief, are allies in Peña’s candidacy, and
are two of the fiercest critics of transparency in trade unions and reforms in
the education and energy sectors. How is he going to get those reforms approved when his allies would be affected by those changes?
It is difficult to expect that the
PRI will not behave like in the past, when in the last twelve years has
blocked necessary reforms and has supported questionable governments in the state level.
