López Obrador with the presidential candidates: Marcelo Ebrard, Adán Augusto López, Ricardo Monreal and Claudia Sheinbaum.@lopezobrador_ (RR SS)
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said that Morena's candidates for the presidential candidacy must separate themselves from their public positions in order to participate in the poll that will define who will lead the party in the 2024 elections. López Obrador has affirmed that, if the National Council scheduled for next Sunday approves that same day the call for the internal selection process, as soon as the following week the corcholatas must leave their positions in the Government. The president put this condition in the dinner he had on Monday night with Moreno governors, party leaders and the four most notable candidates: the head of the Government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum; the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard; Interior Secretary Adán Augusto López and the leader of the Morena faction in the Senate, Ricardo Monreal. Governors and sources of the party's leadership have confirmed to EL PAÍS details of López Obrador's speech, which lasted about an hour as part of a feast at the El Mayor restaurant, located a few meters from the National Palace.
The request of the president implies that the interested parties resign from their positions to be able to dedicate themselves fully to campaigning in the weeks prior to the survey being surveyed. The measure also ensures that they do not use the public resources at their disposal to promote their personal interests, something that is otherwise prohibited by law. The rule imposed by López Obrador affects corcholatas (the name the president gave to presidential hopefuls) differently. Ebrard has been the one who has most insisted that the party hasten the establishment of dates for those interested to resign. On the contrary, Sheinbaum has maintained that he will separate from the capital government only if he is higher in the polls. López Obrador has established that the order of things is the other way around: first resign, then the poll.
The meeting called by the president is another demonstration that he has taken the reins of the internal contest of his party, in an effort to prevent the succession struggle from derailing the process and causing divisions in his movement. It also seals his urgency for the party to speed up the definition of the presidential candidacy. The corcholatas must prepare in a matter of days how their departure from the Government will be: if they will resign definitively or if they will ask for leave of absence, and, perhaps most importantly, who they will leave in their place.
Some of the Morena militants cited by López Obrador in Mexico City, on Monday night. Andrea Murcia Monsivais (Cuartoscuro)
The president did not make pronouncements on whether a single poll or two should be conducted — a filter poll and a "second round" — or whether a single question or several, assessing attributes, should be asked, according to the sources consulted. López Obrador proposed that a commission or committee of representatives of the corcholatas be formed so that they can monitor the evolution of the process, in a transparent manner. He also proposed that the candidates propose names of polling houses and that in a lottery those that will have the task of doing the survey be chosen. López Obrador stressed the call for the candidates to accept the result of the polls and maintain unity. He even asked that those interested sign a commitment that they will stay in the movement and give their support to whoever wins the candidacy.
Sources have claimed that López Obrador's mood last night was celebratory, following the result of Sunday's election, in which Morena and its allies in the Green Party and the Labor Party snatched from the PRI its historic stronghold in the State of Mexico. Moreno's standard-bearer, and now governor-elect, Delfina Gomez, was invited to the meeting. Her presence crystallized the teachings that López Obrador wanted to impart: in the Edomex the alliance remained united and the candidate defeated the PRI candidate Alejandra del Moral. On the contrary, in Coahuila the Morenoist coalition fractured: Morena, the PT and the Green Party promoted different candidates, and the PRI retained power in the state with a huge advantage of more than 25 points.
The atmosphere at the meeting felt somewhat rarefied, first of all because it was not held at the National Palace, as routinely happens when the convener is the president. Some governors were invited in advance, while others, the majority, were called on Monday, with little opportunity to maneuver. Neither the presidents, nor the aspirants, nor the leaders of the party wanted to give statements to the press when they arrived at the restaurant. The sources consulted report that Ebrard was seen as distant and uncomfortable. He interacted little with the governors, and at the end of the night — it rained all the time — he left in a hurry, when a good group of Moreno leaders stayed for a while to take pictures and talk. The photo where Sheinbaum, Monreal and Adán Augusto appear surrounded by leaders and the leadership of the party, but not Ebrard, is eloquent. Lopez Obrador asked that the evening's menu be bean soup and a stuffed meat dish, complete with water and coffee. This morning the president said that together they paid the bill.
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