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On August 8 the Mexican government announced it was dropping charges against former teachers’ union leader Elba Esther Gordillo and the sinister long-time political operator was set free after five years of various types of arrest (for a time-machine return to her sensational bust, please read our blog post from that wonderful day). The big news came on the same day that Andrés Manuel López Obrador received his official certification as President-elect from electoral authorities, provoking widespread speculation that El Peje had somehow played a role in Gordillo’s release. The López Obrador transition team responded that the timing was a mere coincidence, causing further arching of eyebrows and sidelong glances. Gordillo, for her part, announced that she will be making a political announcement on August 20, so local pundits are suggesting she may reveal some sort of collaboration with the new government. Continue reading Feds spring Elba Esther as AMLO looms
Tag Archives: Mexican politics
López Obrador transition off and running
Mexico put an end to months of dire warnings, hand wringing and speculation on July 1 with a presidential election that appears to have taken place without large scale violence or tampering. To recapitulate, leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador won the election by a wide margin and the losing candidates conceded without delay. The election was widely covered in the international press so we will not go into the details here. We would, however, like to offer up some comments from our perspective on what’s happening during the five-month transition period before Mr. López Obrador is set for inauguration as Mexico’s next president on December 1. Continue reading López Obrador transition off and running
New political parties line up for public funds
In early July 2014, Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE) granted official registrations to three new political parties. As of August 1, these parties joined with the existing seven parties holding national registration to make a total of 10 political parties now slurping at the trough of public monies provided to parties with registration. The INE granted each of the new groups a welcome gift of approximately US$230,000 to tide them over through the end of the current year before their full annual subsidies kick in next year. Continue reading New political parties line up for public funds