Politics: Opposition coalition party leaders poised to announce presidential candidate primary contest
Following the success of massive demonstrations called by civil society groups last November and February in defense of the INE and democracy, the leaders of the PAN and PRI spent many months stonewalling calls by those same organizers and many others for them to throw open their presidential candidate selection process and hold an open primary in which social and civic organizations could also participate. Given the lack of public support for and degree of distrust felt by many voters toward the three opposition parties comprising the "Va por México" coalition, such a vote, open to all citizens, could bestow the candidate with the legitimacy and social support indispensable for buttressing his/her competitiveness.
After many months with no clear sign that the parties were willing to engage in talks, civic groups began to engage directly with those currently seeking the presidential nomination of the opposition parties. Following initial overtures, and over the course of a two-day forum in which they could participate, almost all of them responded positively, recognizing that their parties need the support of civil society and that they lack the credibility of the National Civic Front (FCN) to summon it on their own.
By mid-June, and faced with the prospect of the FCN's organizing an open primary on its own, the coalition parties finally acquiesced and offered a similar proposal of their own. It contains some points that are problematic, especially the requirement that every pre-candidate collect the signatures of a quarter of a million voters backing their campaign in only five weeks, an impossible task for almost all but the larger parties themselves. Negotiations over the final selection practice continued into the weekend, so we may see changes to the party proposal when the coalition supporters present the final proposal on Monday afternoon, June 26. If the process is successful, very substantial political and social pressure would be generated, so much so that it may pull into its orbit the one outlier party, the Citizens Movement, which so far has remained opposed to jumping on board the coalition even though there is a strong current inside the MC that is arguing for joining.
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