MEXICO CITY: The threat of losing power to a fierce leftwing rival next year is tempting Mexico’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to enlist outside help for the first time in its nine- decade history.
Corruption scandals, sluggish growth, failure to curb gang violence and persistent allegations of electoral fraud have seriously eroded the centrist party’s already rocky reputation ahead of the July 2018 presidential election.
That has opened the door to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist former mayor of Mexico City and twice runner-up for the presidency who has set the early pace with a relentless campaign against government corruption.
The PRI’s presidential hopefuls can begin registering on December 3 and many officials believe Jose Antonio Meade, currently finance minister, will be chosen in a bid to detoxify its brand.
A fixture in the Cabinet across two rival administrations, Meade has no formal party affiliation and has distinguished himself as a discreet and diplomatic public servant with a grasp of finance and economics matched by few in Mexico.
More importantly, he has avoided the damaging scandals that have engulfed the PRI under President Enrique Pena Nieto, who cannot seek a second six-year term. Heriberto Galindo, a senior PRI politician, said Meade’s probity and economic savvy make him an ideal choice at a time of nagging uncertainty for Mexico due to US President Donald Trump’s threats to ditch the Nafta trade deal.
“The Mexican public’s main social concerns are corruption and impunity, and Jose Antonio Meade has a reputation for being honourable and honest, and he is honourable and honest,” Galindo said. “That’s why I think he should be the candidate.”
The PRI said on Thursday that the party’s candidate would be elected by a national convention on February 18. By then, the candidate may be obvious.
Nearly a dozen PRI lawmakers, serving or former government officials consulted by Reuters said they believed Meade would most likely be chosen, pointing to his cross-party appeal.
None forecast it would be the most prominent PRI contender, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, who has failed to tame gang violence and was pilloried for the 2015 jail break of kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
Meade has been coy about whether he wants the presidency, and some PRI grandees caution the party might spring a surprise.”
— Reuters
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