Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
The non-attendance of the Morena, PT, and Verde candidate to the CitiBanamex forum was not an accident or the result of a scheduling problem. The candidate and her team consciously decided not to attend such a meeting. What was so particular about this type of meeting that scared the official candidate away? What stood out about the meeting was that it was public, and she could be asked tough and direct questions about critical aspects of the 4T administration, which she uncritically defends daily. Obviously, she would not know how to respond.
She did not want to answer the inevitable questions about the conduct of President López Obrador, whom she defends with her eyes closed. What was she going to be asked? The candidate, a staunch defender of López Obrador’s administration, was going to be asked about the reasons for her critical remarks about an apparent or alleged relationship between the government and drug trafficking and its possible intervention in the elections in favor of Morena. They would also have asked the candidate about the assault on the judiciary, the actions violating the rule of law, and the intention to elect the country’s judges and magistrates by popular vote. And probably, they would have asked her what she thinks about the illegal public activism of the President in favor of her candidacy.
Going a little closer to the subject matter of the bankers’ interest, they would have surely asked her about the government’s attitude of systematically violating the free trade agreement that Mexico shares with the United States and Canada in its various sections, especially on issues related to energy, mining, biomedical-pharmaceutical industry technology, and corn. In short, everything related to Mexico’s attempts to prevent free competition among equals in the affected economic sectors.
And, possibly at the end, she could have been asked for an explanation about Mexico’s friendly relations with regimes that oscillate between authoritarianism and dictatorship, such as Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Russia, and China, while this strains and conflicts Mexico’s relations with the United States, Canada, and the European Union.
Amazingly, she did not want to go to a forum where these issues were to be discussed publicly. In principle, she apparently accepts the invitation to attend closed forums without tape recorders or journalists present. But, even so, she does not get off lightly.
She does not attend these events because she knows that an informed, intelligent, and fearless public will demand that she clarify the meaning of the retrograde and regressive policies promoted by López Obrador. And with the unconditional component that makes it worse: she is committed to following his guidelines and instructions to the letter.
She attended the American Society in the format of a forum closed to the public and the press. She systematically avoided answering questions and tried, unsuccessfully, to impose her unique narrative on the discussion. She failed in the attempt and ended up with frostiness from the audience. After her, Xóchitl Gálvez participated. (Movimiento Ciudadano had not yet named her presidential candidacy). Xóchitl answered all the questions directly, without beating around the bush, and was farewelled with a standing ovation by the attendees. Sheinbaum’s defeat was notorious for the “match” of the two candidates without external observance.
Xóchitl Gálvez traveled to Washington to meet with fellow compatriots and Mexican students in New York and Washington. She also met with the U.S. press, universities, specialists in bilateral issues, Democratic and Republican legislators, members of the Biden administration, the Secretary General of the OAS, and members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Subsequently, Xóchitl traveled to Spain and met with members of the Mexican community settled in that country, with journalists, businessmen, and Spanish politicians, in addition to meeting with Spanish government officials, offering to normalize the historical bilateral relations between both nations, both political, economic and cultural.
She privately met with Pope Francis at the Vatican to end her trip.
Why didn’t Claudia Sheinbaum make her own trip to the United States, given that she studied at Stanford University, one of the most expensive universities in the world, and speaks English? Well, she tried. But the problem was that she wanted to make a “ mañanera” type of trip. That is, where she and her team would prepare all the questions, and no one would be allowed to ask questions outside the “script”. Of course, no one agreed to such a purpose and barbarity. Instead, the mere suggestion of such authoritarian control over the questions, the answers, and the supposed dialogue detracted immediately from the international image of Mexico’s official candidate.
Therefore, to fulfill all its preconditions, Sheinbaum’s campaign could only be comfortably conducted in countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Even in countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia, achieving a passive and controlled audience like the one the candidate wishes to have in front of her will be difficult.
But the situation is repeated even within our own country. She does not plan to attend the country’s private universities for the same fear of facing “rebellious and uncontrolled corporate audiences.” Surely, she remembers how candidate Peña Nieto did at the Ibero, hiding in a bathroom. Therefore, it is likely that she will not go to the Ibero, the ITAM, the Anáhuac, or the Tec de Monterrey. However, it is unclear whether she will have a joyful reception at UNAM or UAM because the 4T has not convinced anyone at those institutions, either with its policies attacking public education financing in general or critical thinking in particular.
In any case, any appearance at a public higher education institution will be sneaky, discreet, and non-public. So is the campaign of the official candidate of the 4T. She must buy and pay audiences in advance to appear in public. Progressively, her public appearances are increasingly controlled and simulated so that she does not expose herself to the wrath of the citizens in practically any corner of the country.
A candidate who is hidden and isolated and who cannot leave the country for fear of being exposed to harsh criticism for which she has no answer is useless to Mexico.
And much less does she serve as President of Mexico.
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