Leadership rows highight weaknesses of Mexico's Morena

Subject

Morena leadership.

Significance

The Electoral Court (TEPJF) on February 26 ruled that the contested election in January of Congressman Alfonso Ramirez Cuellar as interim leader of Mexico’s ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena) was legal. He was elected for a four-month period in order to arrange the selection of a new party leader. He replaces Secretary General Yeidckol Polevnsky, who questioned the decision. Polevnsky remains one of four contestants in a leadership renewal process that has been plagued by irregularities and allegations of foul play. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) has refused to enter the dispute, saying that he is no longer head of the party.

Impacts

• Internal Morena tensions will be compounded by discontented sectors, such as farmers, that felt betrayed by the government’s 2020 budget.
• Whoever succeeds Ramirez Cuellar will probably oversee candidate appointments for the 2021 elections, boosting their party influence.
• The weakness of the opposition will benefit Morena, which will probably maintain its dominance in most areas in 2021.