Politics: PRI at the crossroads on the difficult path to the 2024 elections
The PRI is in a difficult position inside the chain of the opposition coalition that also includes the PAN and the PRD, suffering from a poor public image and wracked by internal differences, chief among them how to relate to President Andres Manuel López Obrador’s government. The opening shot in the party’s latest troubles occurred last week when the Morena governor of Campeche, Layda Sansores, released recorded phone conversations involving PRI National President Alejandro Moreno, known as "Alito", which revealed alleged crimes such as corruption, tax evasion, and money laundering. The campaign against Moreno can be apparently explained by a phone conversation the PRI president released between himself and Green Ecologist Party of Mexico Senator Manuel Velasco, which contained a clear threat by López Obrador via his Minister of the Interior that if Alito did not tow the line and support the electricity reform, the government would move against him with everything in its arsenal.
There is considerable grumbling in the PRI over Alito’s poor performance at the helm of the party and his leadership style, and there are calls for his removal and a broader internal renewal. If an opposition coalition is to have a shot at winning in 2024, the PRI will have to get its house in order, which is easier said than done, particularly given the recent attacks by AMLO and Sansores. Sectors continue to desert the PRI for Morena, and its electoral clout currently stands at a mere 18%.
Key to any possibility the opposition might have in 2024 lie in what attitude the Citizens’ Movement (MC) and its top leader, Dante Delgado, will adopt. If the MC, with 7% voter support, decides to go it alone, as is currently Delgado’s line, the possibility of defeating Morena in the presidential elections could be very slim.
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