López Obrador with the presidential candidates: Marcelo Ebrard, Adán Augusto López, Ricardo Monreal and Claudia Sheinbaum.@lopezobrador_ (RR SS)
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said that Morena candidates for the presidential nomination will have to step down from their public offices in order to take part in the poll that will determine who will lead the party in the 2024 elections. López Obrador has confirmed that if the National Council, scheduled for next Sunday, approves the call for internal selection procedures on the same day, the Corcholatas will have to leave their positions in the government as early as the following week. The President made that condition at the dinner he held this Monday evening with Morenista governors, party leaders and the four main candidates: Mexico City’s head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum; Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard; the Interior Minister Adán Augusto López and the leader of the Morena faction in the Senate Ricardo Monreal. Governors and party leadership sources have confirmed to EL PAÍS details of López Obrador’s speech, which lasted about an hour during a celebration at El Mayor restaurant, a few meters from the National Palace.
The President’s motion implies that interested parties will step down from their posts to focus fully on campaigning in the weeks leading up to the poll’s cancellation. The measure also ensures that they do not use public funds available to them to further their personal interests, which would otherwise be prohibited by law. The rule imposed by López Obrador affects Corcholatas (the name the president gave to presidential candidates) in a different way. Ebrard was the one who most insisted that the party set expedited dates for those interested in resigning. On the contrary, Sheinbaum has claimed that he will only walk away from the capital government if he leads the polls. López Obrador has found that things are the other way around: first resign, then choose.
The meeting, called by the president, is further evidence that he has taken charge of his party’s internal strife to prevent the succession dispute from derailing the process and creating divisions in his movement. It also reiterates its urgency for the party to speed up the definition of the presidential nomination. The Corcholatas have a few days to prepare for what their exit from government will be: whether they will resign permanently or whether they will seek sacking and, perhaps most importantly, who they will leave in their place.
Some of the Morena fighters called up by López Obrador this Monday evening in Mexico City. Andrea Murcia Monsivais (Cuartoscuro)
According to the sources, the president did not specify whether a single poll or two should be conducted — a filter poll and a “second round” — nor whether a single question or multiple should be asked, as far as assessing attributes being consulted . López Obrador suggested creating a commission or committee of representatives of the Corcholatas so that they could follow the development of the process in a transparent way. He also suggested that candidates suggest names of polling stations and that those responsible for conducting the poll be chosen by drawing lots. López Obrador stressed the requirement for applicants to accept the results of the polls and to maintain unity. He even urged those interested to sign a pledge to stay in the movement and support whoever wins the candidacy.
Sources have confirmed that López Obrador’s mood was celebratory last night after the result of Sunday’s election day, in which Morena and her Green Party and Labor Party allies wrested their historic stronghold in the state of Mexico from the PRI. Morenista flag-bearer and now-governor-elect Delfina Gómez was invited to the meeting. Their presence crystallized the lessons López Obrador wished to impart: in Edomex, the alliance remained united and the candidate defeated PRI member Alejandra del Moral. On the contrary, in Coahuila the Morenista coalition broke up: Morena, the PT and the Greens fielded different candidates, and the PRI retained power in the state by a huge margin of more than 25 points.
The atmosphere at the meeting felt a little more relaxed, largely because it wasn’t held at the National Palace, as is usual when the convener is the President. Some governors were invited in advance, while others, the majority, were convened that same Monday and had little opportunity to act. Neither the leaders, nor the candidates, nor the party leaders wanted to make statements to the press upon their arrival at the restaurant. According to sources interviewed, Ebrard appeared distant and uncomfortable. He had little contact with the governors and at the end of the night – it rained all the time – he left in a hurry when a good group of Morenista guides stayed for a while to take photos and chat. The photo, which shows Sheinbaum, Monreal and Adán Augusto surrounded by leaders and the party leadership, but not Ebrard, is eloquent. López Obrador asked that the menu for the evening should include bean soup and a stuffed meat dish, water and coffee. This morning the President said they all paid the bill.
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