Questionnaires of contenders for the presidency | Article

Rogelio Muniz Toledo

“Political recruitment is the means by which
people enter the political process at all levels
and through numerous channels, both formal and informal.
Roderick iCamp*

Studies of political elites and recruitment in our country are few. doctor’s books Roderick iCamp on this issue were the benchmark in Mexicoespecially in the last decade of the last century. How a person enters politics, and the keys to success in it, largely depend on the entry routes and mechanisms of advancement within the political elite.

The processes of political recruitment and access to political elites have changed significantly with the transition to democracy in our country. If we specifically analyze the recruitment and promotion processes that determine who can reach the presidency of the republic, we can see that before the first change in 2000, the ruling party’s main route to a presidential candidacy was federal executive office.

With the transition and alternation of the federal executive power, the access routes to the presidential candidacy have expanded for both the ruling party and the opposition. Although most candidates still come from the political class, that is, from political professionals, their background has ceased to be mainly the presidential cabinet, and we see more applicants with parliamentary careers and political work at the local level.

It is important to note that any attempt to analyze applicant profiles based on the categories contained in the last paragraph of the document is unacceptable. Article 1. constitutional: gender, ethnic or national origin, social status, age (obviously, as long as the requirement constitutional article 82 age 35 at the time of election), disability, health status, religion, opinions, sexual preference, or marital status.

Considering the profiles of applicants based on the categories indicated in the previous paragraph will necessarily lead us to the field discriminationwhich would be very serious. Analysis of the profiles of those who apply for such a candidacy should be based on the political background, professional trajectory, skills, results, and ideological and ethical beliefs of people. When we analyze them, we will find interesting data.

Two weeks after the decision in the ruling party and in the opposition bloc – unless something unexpected or surprising happens in the ongoing processes – it seems that the candidates will be determined in favor of Claudia Sheinbaum And Xochitl Galvez, respectively; although we could face two equal races, one between Sheinbaum and Ebrard and another one in between Galvez and Paredes.

However, for the purposes of this article, I have reviewed the profiles of eight candidates who I believe have reached the prelude to the presidential candidacy of the ruling party and the opposition coalition. Not forgetting that the definition of a candidate civil movementthat it looks like he will not change his strategy to go only to the presidential elections, and the possibility of registering an independent candidacy.

I will refer to applicant profiles for Brunette (Claudia Sheinbaum, Marcelo Ebrard, Adan Augusto Lopez and Ricardo Monreal), and candidates for wide front from Mexico, who qualified for the third stage (Xochitl Galvez, Beatriz Paredes and Santiago Creel) and the candidate from the front, who did not qualify for the second stage (Miguel Angel Mancera), but whose participation is still latent due to the fact that it is awaiting a decision. serious problem in electoral tribunalthe decision of which may be favorable in the coming days.

In relation to the region of the country from which they originate, four applicants were born in Mexico City (Kreel, Ebrard, Manser and Sheinbaum) and four in states in the north, center and southeast of the country (Galvez in Hidalgo, Lopez in Tabasco, Montreal in Zacatecas and Paredes in Tlaxcala), but without his political work in the Republic’s capital, it would be difficult to explain his rise in the national political elite.

The importance of political activity in Mexico City for the nomination of a presidential candidate is still clear. Three Ruled Mexico City: Ebrard, Manser and Sheinbaum. Two tried: Creel once (2000) and Paredes twice (2006 and 2012); both were candidates for head of government but did not achieve victory. Montreal in 2018 and recently Gálvez have also sought to rule the republic’s capital. Three of the applicants were heads of delegations in Mexico City from 2015 to 2018: Gálvez in Miguel Hidalgo, Montreal in Cuauhtémoc, and Sheinbaum in Tlalpan. Lopez managed to get into the election race as the Minister of the Interior, that is, with political work in the capital of the republic.

Universities are considered a source of recruitment for the political elite. Five UNAM alumni (Kreel, Galvez, Mancera, Sheinbaum and Paredes) and one more, given their graduate school (Montreal), one from El College of Mexico (Ebrard) and two from state public universities (Lopez de Tabasco and Montreal de Zacatecas). Nobody is a graduate of private universities. four studied right (Kreel, Lopez, Manser and Montreal); two, Sciences (Galves graduated in computer engineering and Sheinbaum in physics); and two Social sciencies (Ebrard has a degree in international relations, while Paredes has a degree in sociology). Five have postgraduate studies abroad: Creel, Ebrard, Lopez, Manser and Sheinbaum. Three have doctorates (Mancera, Montreal and Sheinbaum, all at UNAM).

Another criterion for analysis is party activity and activity in party political work. Galvez and Manser are not active and have not participated in political parties., although both agreed to a two-stance popular election through party channels (PAN and PRD); Ebrard was a member or candidate of six parties (PRI, PVEM, the extinct Center Democratic Party founded by Manuel Camacho, and he, PRD, MC and Morena); Montreal of five (PRI, PRD, PT, MC and Morena); Lopez of three (PRI, PRD and Morena); Sheinbaum of two (PRD and Morena); Walls in PRI only and studs in PAN only. The only one who led a political party and is very active in party work is Beatriz Paredes.

Parties continue to monopolize the candidacies of their militants. The political recruitment for the presidential nomination was not open to the public. The two applicants, Galvez and Manser, were considered political outsiders at the start their political careers at the start of the 21st century, but after serving in the Fox governments at the federal level and Ebrard in Mexico City, respectively, and achieving two popularly elected offices through party channels, they can no longer be considered newcomers to politics in the current process, even if they not affiliated with any party.

In terms of government experience, recruitment has moved from the president’s office to local governments and legislatures. Only three were secretaries of state (Ebrard for foreign affairs; Creel and Lopez for home affairs), but six ruled the state of their birth (Ebrard, Mancera and Sheinbaum for Mexico City, Lopez Tabasco, Montreal Zacatecas and Paredes Tlaxcala). Galvez ran for governor in her home state (Hidalgo) in 2010 but lost the election by about 5 percentage points.

Those who have not been secretaries in the presidential office have experience in the field. Ebrard, Mancera and Scheinbaum were members of the cabinet of the Mexico City government, while Gálvez held the corresponding position in the extended cabinet along with Vicente Fox and led the delegation. Paredes served four times as Under Secretary of State (three times for home affairs and one for agrarian reform). Galvez, Montreal and Sheinbaum led the delegations.

Applicants also accumulate significant legislative experience. Six passed through the Senate (Creel, Galvez, Lopez, Manser, Montreal three times and Paredes twice) and five through the Chamber of Deputies (Creel twice – in addition to being a founding deputy from Mexico City, Ebrard, Lopez, Montreal). three times and Paredes four times). Creel was President of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, while Paredes was President of the Chamber of Deputies three times. Lopez and Paredes also entered the local council. Only Sheinbaum was not a legislator.

As already explained, age should not be a criterion for profile analysis. Only as final data and without any assessment of the profile of applicants, it is important to indicate, as an element of assessment of the renewal of political elites in the country, that the average age of applicants is 62 years. old, with a range of 57 to 70 years.

These data allow us to draw some conclusions: progress made on gender parity (three women, five men, and both candidates are most likely female); political recruiting has shifted from the executive to the legislature and local governments; there is a balance in relation to the region of the country from which applicants come, but political work in Mexico City continues to be the preferred way to access a presidential candidate.; guerrilla activity is still not an important route of entry, although after the President of the Republic, party elites retain an important part of the control over the process of choosing a presidential candidate; UNAM and state universities continue to be an important source of recruitment for the political elite. and finally, ideological profile does not appear to be a determining factor in obtaining a candidacy.

* Dr. Roderick I Camp is an American political scientist and university professor.
specializes in Mexican politics, political elites and recruiting