Mexico News Report

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s political party is MORENA, the
Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (National Regeneration Movement).

Amazingly, the MORENA party has only existed as a political party for 12 years, since 2014. It was founded by Sheinbaum’s predecessor President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO). It is now the biggest and most powerful political party in Mexico and runs the government. (See The Astonishing Growth and Power of Mexico’s MORENA Party).

There is currently a political crisis in Mexico resulting from the U.S. indictment of ten officials and former officials of the cartel-infested state of Sinaloa. (See here, here and here).

That crisis is, according to a recent Reuters article, affecting the unity of the mighty MORENA party.

From Reuters: “A U.S. indictment announced last week accusing several Mexican politicians, including the governor of Sinaloa, of having drug cartel ties is triggering a rift in the ruling Morena party as factions jostle ​over how to respond, posing a significant challenge for President Claudia Sheinbaum…behind the scenes, a heated dispute has broken out along pre-existing fault lines within the ruling party, three senior Morena officials told Reuters. The dispute has centered on the future of Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha, an ​influential Morena politician who said last Friday he would step down temporarily as a local investigation proceeds.”

What are the factions within MORENA ?

There’s this one:
“The powerful faction in Morena that is loyal to former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the movement’s founder and de facto leader, has vehemently opposed any ​action that could be regarded as giving in to U.S. pressure, the sources said. That faction is led by Supreme Court Justice Lenia Batres and her brother Martí, who is in charge ​of Mexico’s public-sector social security agency ISSSTE, as well as Morena congressional leaders Ignacio Mier and Ricardo Monreal. The group was against Rocha stepping down, believing he should be allowed to continue in his post until allegations of cartel ties were proven in Mexico – an uncertain process that could take years to play out. They also regard any consideration of U.S. extradition as a betrayal of Mexican sovereignty. Rocha is ​a longtime ally of López Obrador.”

Then there’s the other one:
“On the other side of the dispute is a growing and influential group of younger leaders, headed by the party’s new chief  Ariadna Montiel, who see ​the Rocha indictment as an opportunity to finally combat corruption within the ranks of the ruling party. That faction is more naturally aligned with Sheinbaum although the leader remains indebted to her predecessor ‌and mentor whose ⁠overwhelming popularity secured her electoral victory.”

How could the rift affect MORENA politically?
“The confrontation marks a potential crossroads for Morena, according to
officials and political analysts. Potentially at stake, they say, is the ruling party’s super majority in Congress formed through a coalition with the Labor Party and the Green Party. Any sense of an internal split could also hurt Morena at the polls. ‘Behind closed doors, the fractures within the party are evident,’ said a senior Morena leader aligned with López Obrador.
‘It’s clear that whatever happens with Rocha will have ​an impact on the party’s future.’ ”

Here is Sheinbaum’s dilemma:
“On ⁠the one hand, a public sense that she has betrayed Lopez Obrador by doing the bidding of the United States could harm Morena as a political force. But Mexicans are also increasingly angry about corruption and alleged collusion between politicians and organized crime, especially in places devastated by cartel violence like Sinaloa. If Sheinbaum is seen to be turning a blind eye or sweeping serious ⁠accusations under ​the carpet, it could severely damage her credibility.”