Politics: Power grab by controversial PRI leader perceived as potential party death knell
Last week PRI National President Alito Moreno of the PRI had more to say about the dwindling number of members of who continue to resist his control over the party. At a PRI leadership event from which dissidents were barred and where a unanimous show of hands waved through by-law changes to allow the leader to stand for re-election, he lashed out at “those out who say they participated in the PRI,” labeling them as “a bunch of cynics, lackeys, and scabs at the service of the government and its interests,” going so far as to allege that some were linked to the 1994 assassination of then-PRI presidential nominee Luis Donaldo Colosio.
The warning signs had long been apparent. It was just the latest episode in his long march since being elected president in 2019 to tighten his grip on the party that has seen most of its historical leaders departing in waves, with of them most re-emerging in López Obrador’s Morena or allied parties. It has also coincided with a significant erosion of membership and voter support, relegating the PRI to third or fourth place, behind the MC, in some metrics. It has lost 10 state governorships and almost 30% of its national congressional vote.
The federal electoral tribunal is currently considering a suit from former PRI leaders claiming the meetings at which the by-laws were approved violated electoral law. This week we analyze the trajectories of Moreno and the PRI and the response from other political forces.
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