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The pieces just continue to line up for Marcelo Ebrard.  Mexico City’s mayor this week was awarded the World Mayor Prize for 2010 by self-described urban affairs think tank The City Mayors Foundation.  According to the organization’s web site, the prize is intended to “honour those who have made long-lasting contributions to their communities and are committed to the well-being of cities nationally and internationally.”  The honor, which we suspect did not take Ebrard by surprise, comes directly on the heels of his hosting of the Local and Regional Leaders World Summit 2010 in Mexico City and participation in the 16th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP16) in Cancun.

This latest coup by Mr. Ebrard is yet another click in the ratcheting up of his long-running stealth campaign to run for president of Mexico in 2012, which we commented on in a recent post.  That same clicking sound may have been heard again recently with another political development: the selection of Senator Gustavo Madero as the new leader of the ruling National Action Party (PAN).  What could a dodgy internal election in the bible-thumpers’ party have to do with the aspirations of Mexico City’s gay-loving, tree-hugging leftist mayor?  The answer may be lurking between the lines of Senator Madero’s comments shortly after tying up his bid for PAN leadership.  Calling the currently favored PRI’s belief they will win back the presidency in 2012 a ‘wild fantasy’, Madero reiterated his support for anti-PRI electoral alliances with other parties – such as Mr. Ebrard’s  PRD. Continue reading Marcelo Ebrard awarded World Mayor Prize →