AMLO Chances Boosted By Margarita Zavala Going Independent; Mari-Chuy Candidacy Going Strong (10/6/2017)
Twice the target of electoral fraud, Lopez Obrador's candidacy is viewed as inevitable abroad. Margarita Zavala announced a potential independent run due to disagreements with PAN (Partido de Accion Nacional), the Mexican fascist party with strong US ties. Felipe Calderon, her husband, was Mexico's president from 2006 through 2012, winning a controversial election that was widely denounced for voter fraud. Even so, Marichuy Patricio is defining Mexico's political context with her base of indigeonous support.
TweetIn December of 2006, two Mexican Choicepoint employees were arrested for handing over voter data to the company, which was alleged to have worked for Felipe Calderon's presidential campaign. Calderon was embattled, his declaration of war against the cartels was also a way for him to mobilize the military amidst a restless population. Now, it seems Obrador - who many accuse of ceding too much ground to PRI and PAN positions - is poised to win Mexico's 2018 elections. If so, it would be the first victory for a non-PRI or right-wing party in over 50 years.
Indigenous Candidate: A Non-Mestizo Choice for MexicansZavala is not the only potential independent candidate. Jaime Rodriguez, also known as 'El Bronco', Nuevo Leon's 'vaquero' governor, has announced that he will register as an independent candidate. Rodriguez is set to announce a referendum where he petition 1 million voters to allow him to temporarily seperate from his governorship.
More importantly to Mexico's vast indigenous population, a non-mestizo candidate has emerged: María de Jesús Patricio Martínez, better known as "Mari-Chuy", spokeperson for the Council on Indigenous Government or CGI in Spanish. She was elected by a committee of indigenous communities to represent Mexico's marginalized indigenous communities. Backed by the EZLN, an organization of indigenous communities in Chiapas, and, the CNI (National Council of Indigenous Peoples) Mari-Chuy is from the state of Jalisco in southwest Mexico.
Mexicans Demand AlternativesMari-Chuy, like the rest of the indigenous community in Mexico & US, believes that increasing participation in the electoral process will lead to a 'bottom-up' government. Global demands for representation and participation are boiling over in Mexico as they have in Barcelona.
In Mexico, where corruption and brutality are the norm for institutions, Mari-Chuy's candidacy is setting the tone for a presidential candidate race that will surely leave behind far-right parties, and keep foreign interventionists guessing.