Ex-president Felipe Calderón hints at return to Mexican politics

Former Mexican president Felipe Calderón Hinojosa indicated connected Monday that helium is reasoning astir making immoderate benignant of governmental comeback much than a decennary aft completing his six-year term.

Calderón, president from 2006 to 2012, hinted astatine a instrumentality to authorities erstwhile helium was asked successful an interrogation astir the relaunch of the National Action Party (PAN), the enactment helium represented.

Former president Felipe Calderón poses for a photograph on with PAN leaders Jorge Romero Herrera and Kenia López astatine a caller legislative study fixed by Deputy Margarita Zavala. (@PaulinaRubioFdz/X)

The 63-year-old ex-president said that helium was funny successful uncovering retired what “exactly” the PAN relaunch consists of, and however the “relaunch process” volition beryllium carried out, “before making a idiosyncratic determination that mightiness impact returning to progressive politics, oregon not.”

Journalist Azucena Uresti enactment it to Calderón that helium wanted to spot “the results” of the PAN relaunch earlier deciding whether helium would “actively instrumentality to the PAN,” oregon “let’s accidental politics.”

“To authorities successful general,” Calderón said, adding that helium didn’t cognize whether helium would instrumentality to the PAN, a blimpish enactment that is presently the main absorption to the Morena enactment and its allies.

The ex-president discontinue the PAN successful 2018, saying astatine the clip that it had ceased to beryllium “an instrumentality of national information for the operation of a amended Mexico” and that it had abandoned its “fundamental principles.”

In 2020, Calderón asserted that the México Libre (Free Mexico) governmental question helium co-founded with his wife, Margarita Zavala, would go the sole alternate to Morena.

However, aboriginal successful 2020, the National Electoral Institute rejected an exertion to registry México Libre arsenic a governmental enactment owed to questions implicit its funding.

Zavala, who launched an autarkic bid for the presidency successful 2018, has been a national lawman for the PAN since 2021. Calderón could perchance question to participate the Chamber of Deputies oregon the Senate sometime successful the future. Mexico’s adjacent national elections, astatine which the Chamber of Deputies volition beryllium renewed, volition beryllium held successful 2027. Deputies, senators and a caller president volition each beryllium elected successful 2030.

Morena enactment enactment is captious of the erstwhile president’s militarized run against the country’s cause cartels, which led to a emergence successful civilian deaths, disappearances and torture. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)

A instrumentality to the presidency is retired of the question for Calderón arsenic the Mexican Constitution prohibits presidents from serving much than 1 six-year term.

The Michoacán native, who narrowly defeated Andrés Manuel López Obrador successful the 2006 statesmanlike election, is simply a arguable fig successful Mexican politics. He is possibly champion remembered for launching a militarized warfare connected cause cartels soon aft helium took bureau successful precocious 2006.

López Obrador, who claimed that helium was the rightful victor of the 2006 election, blamed Calderón for the precocious levels of unit that plagued Mexico during his 2018-24 presidency.

President Claudia Sheinbaum is besides a fierce professional of Calderón, a erstwhile caput wide and president of the PAN, and vigor curate for a play during the 2000-2006 presidency of Vicente Fox.

Since leaving the presidency successful 2012, Calderón has worked successful academia, successful the backstage sector, and arsenic a keynote speaker. In opposition to his successor, Enrique Peña Nieto, and López Obrador since helium near the presidency, Calderón is regularly progressive connected societal media, wherever helium comments connected a scope of Mexican and planetary issues.

The PAN relaunch 

The National Action Party, founded soon aft World War II began successful 1939, relaunched itself arsenic a “more open, antiauthoritarian and citizen-focused” enactment astatine an lawsuit successful Mexico City connected Saturday.

PAN nationalist president Jorge Romero Herrera asserted that the enactment volition beryllium the “most open” successful Mexico, with candidates selected via superior processes.

According to a connection issued by the PAN, the party’s relaunch is based connected 3 cardinal tenets:

• Redefinition of the “causes” of the party, “reviving panista pridefulness and empathy with the people.”
• Reform of the PAN’s statutes successful bid to commence a caller “stage of participation, transparency and democracy” successful the party.
• A refresh of the party’s “visual identity, with a revamped logo that reflects modernity, approachability and pridefulness successful its history.”

The PAN held a march successful Mexico City to relaunch the enactment connected Saturday. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)

Romero besides announced that the PAN volition nary longer beryllium portion of alliances with different governmental parties, including the Institutional Revolutionary Party, oregon PRI, which governed Mexico for astir of the 20th century.

“The confederation that volition astir specify our destiny is the 1 we volition person with national leaders,” helium said.

“… We privation [the] National Action [Party] to beryllium a conveyance for citizens that allows each Mexicans to determine who the champion candidates are,” Romero said.

The PAN contested the 2021 and 2024 national elections arsenic portion of an confederation that besides included the PRI and the Democratic Revolution Party, oregon PRD.

The PRD mislaid its registration arsenic a national-level governmental enactment aft its mediocre showing astatine the 2024 elections. The power of some the PRI and the PAN successful nationalist authorities has been greatly diminished since the emergence of Morena arsenic Mexico’s ascendant governmental unit successful 2018, the twelvemonth successful which López Obrador won the presidency and the enactment helium founded seized power of some houses of Congress.

Calderón: PAN is ‘on the close track’

Calderón said connected Monday that helium believed that the PAN is present “on the close track,” premising his presumption connected “what was said oregon what was promised” by the enactment astatine its relaunch event.

He stressed the value of the enactment fulfilling its promises.

Calderón said that “openness” to citizens — i.e., giving mean Mexicans a accidental successful the absorption of the PAN and the enactment of candidates — has been “the astir important demand” regarding the governmental party. Openness to citizens is the party’s “most important need,” helium added.

While offering a affirmative wide appraisal of the PAN’s relaunch, Calderón was not enthused by the party’s determination to terminate its governmental alliances.

“Alliances person advantages and disadvantages. I deliberation that the PAN shouldn’t interruption the narration it yet managed to physique with the PRI, with MC [the Citizens Movement party], with different parties,” helium said.

“There are bully radical and precise atrocious radical successful the parties, successful each of them,” Calderón said.

The ex-president didn’t be the PAN’s relaunch lawsuit successful Mexico City connected Saturday, but connected Monday, helium was successful the assemblage erstwhile his woman and different PAN deputies presented reports connected their enactment arsenic members of Mexico’s little house.

At the event, Calderón is seen sitting adjacent to Romero successful a photograph the PAN nationalist president posted to societal media.

Whether Calderón discussed a imaginable governmental comeback with the PAN’s nationalist person was unclear.

With reports from Radio Fórmula, Sin Embargo and El Financiero