Just under an hour and 40 minutes lasted the first debate of the Broad Front candidates for Mexico, a cordial meeting still marked by the hangover of the previous phase and the rushed gathering of the 150,000 signatures needed to reach the final phase. The four finalists appeared before colleagues and supporters at a hotel on Mexico City’s Paseo de la Reforma. Xóchitl Gálvez, Beatriz Paredes, Santiago Creel and Enrique De la Madrid have shown unity and united in their criticism of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for the “polarization” he is subjecting the country to.
The front has labeled the debate a forum, perhaps to avoid warmongering semantics. No one wanted to argue there: everyone proposed. Today’s forum was the first of several that applicants will be holding in various states across the country in the coming weeks. The idea was not so much to propose an idea of the Mexico they envision – although there was a block dealing with exactly that – but rather to confirm the beginning of a new phase, to somehow align with the media apparatus of To oppose Morena, a similar selection process was instituted, protected in the National Palace.
And to confront Morena, they chose one of the issues that hurts the government the most: insecurity, a campaign promise they couldn’t keep. “The policy of hugs and no bullets is a failure. Impunity breeds more violence, fueling a vicious cycle,” said Gálvez. “Violence is the country’s main problem,” Creel said. “We have war records. It’s organized crime that feels good. I envision a Mexico where the rule of law is practiced and impunity, corruption and violence are fought.”
The event began with the candidates’ messages, none of which were as vehement as that of PRI member Beatriz Paredes, who showed off her fangs and waistline. “We are at a pivotal moment in Mexican life. A moment when the accumulated democratic experience, in which the country’s democrats dismantled the hegemonic party regime, surprisingly saw an authoritarian regression disguised as a progressive project. It was a betrayal of the democratic vote,” he said.
At the beginning, everyone chose a topic. Paredes has given feminism a wink and pointed out that three women are running for the country’s presidency today: herself, her PAN colleague Xóhitl Gálvez and the Morenista Caludia Sheinbaum. Like Paredes, Creel appealed to the democratic spirit. “I’m here for the same reasons I was here 30 years ago when I decided to be part of the Citizens’ Election Observation Groups. Then as now, it’s about defending democracy,” he said.
De la Madrid, who spoke first, has his sword and hammer out, a few points clear of his team-mates. He used the verb “outrage,” which is more emphatic than the others’ tone, to enumerate the issues he thinks are troubling Mexico. “I am disgusted to see a Mexico bleeding to death. It’s embarrassing to drive on our roads. I am disgusted that a ruler should shake hands with the mother of the most notorious criminal while turning his back on motherseekers. I am outraged that this group of incompetent people has treated the issue of the pandemic so poorly. I’m outraged that they destroyed popular insurance and left us without medication. I am ashamed of the deserted field,” he said.
Gálvez, the great surprise of the last few months, focused his first speech – and some of his subsequent responses – on the confrontation he had with López Obrador. “The President has closed the doors of the National Palace to children with cancer, doctors, women, teachers, and mothers seeking… The door of the Palace opens from the inside out.” From here I tell you that we will open this door together. Mexico no longer needs more hate and division. “Mexico needs a coalition government like the ones on the front lines,” he said.
As veterans of thousands of battles, Creel and Paredes seemed to better understand the tone, the rhythm between solemnity and nonchalance. They were the only ones who practiced some self-criticism. Finally, the PRI and the PAN, the horses that draw the front, are the parties that have ruled Mexico throughout its modern history, especially the former. “This Broad Front proposes a democratic method for selecting their candidate. The big challenge is that this is not a farce. It is about the reform of power, as he said [Luis Donaldo] colosium. outrage is not enough. “We need to transform the political system,” Paredes said.
For his part, Creel said: “We need a dose of self-criticism, our parties have not deepened democratization, we have distanced ourselves from the citizenry.”
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