Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
The question is neither idle nor malicious. It is a question asked, in fact, with great concern. Not for one person, but for the functioning of a fundamental institution of the Mexican state: the presidency, no less.
Who, if anyone, in her cabinet, obeys the president? Who, if anyone, in Morena’s political leadership, in the party, and Congress, obeys the president? The question is necessary given the mounting evidence that the president is moving in one direction, while many in the cabinet, the party, and Congress seem to be moving in the opposite direction.
To transition from the simplest to the most complex, the most immediate issue is the luxurious vacations of many prominent members of Morena, which contrasts with the verbal presidential instruction issued from the mañanera, instructing Morena members to behave in an austere manner.
The first to disregard the President’s guidance was Andy López Beltrán, AMLO’s son, who went on a trip to Japan. According to press reports, he is staying at an exclusive five-star hotel in Tokyo. He is accompanied by Morena deputy Daniel Asaf, former head of López Obrador’s office when he was president. Comments about his “austerity” abound on social media.
In the same situation are Congressmen Ricardo Monreal and Enrique Vázquez, as well as the Yunes, father and son, both senators of the republic. On the other hand, Mario Delegado, Secretary of Public Education in Sheinbaum’s federal cabinet, was also photographed at a luxury hotel in Lisbon, Portugal. And the list goes on, as Morena members themselves are posting their luxury vacation activities on social media.
You don’t need the Pegasus system to detect their whereabouts. But the one who is wearing herself out over the issue is President Sheinbaum, who started by scolding Monreal and others. Will Andy also get a scolding?
The president’s problem is that what the many Morena vacationers have made clear is that they do not care about the president’s opinion. By being disdained and ignored, the president shows political weakness.
The president assumes a position of “moral superiority,” but by being disdained, she projects something she surely does not want: a lack of authority over her own people.
Sheinbaum presented a list of criteria for proper conduct for Morena members. No immediate re-election, no transferring positions to family members, and the cancellation of rights for specific individuals already integrated into Morena, whose backgrounds confirmed them to have engaged in morally reprehensible conduct.
Morena basically responded, “Yes, but we don’t know when… Not for now. Her party batted her down. Additionally, she was not permitted to include any of her own operatives on the National Executive Committee. That body is the former president’s personal fiefdom.
President Sheinbaum sent a new National Security Law that granted Omar García Harfuch new and vital powers in the fight against drug trafficking. Congress returned a bill granting those powers, but to the Army and the National Guard, not to Harfuch. That decision was up to López Obrador to make, because he distrusts Harfuch.
All her presidential legislative initiatives have been changed and transformed, or sent to the drawer to be voted on “later.”
The disconnect between the president and the rest of her political entourage is worrying. Given that Mexico has a presidential political system, the question arises: who is making the decisions, AMLO or Sheinbaum?
It took Lázaro Cárdenas around 17 months to get rid of Plutarco Elías Calles’ “Maximato.” Sheinbaum is entering the eleventh month of her term, and it is unclear how she will extricate herself from the oppressive situation that holds her hostage, considering that she lacks the political strength and operational capacity to break free from her cage.
ricaropascoe@hotmail.com
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