Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
Taking advantage of the 2021 elections, then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador orchestrated a radical change in the organizational structure and mode of operation of the Mexican State. He authorized and implemented the operational merger of his party, Morena, with drug cartels to win the contested gubernatorial races.
From the government’s perspective, the operation was a success. Of the 17 states up for election, Morena won 13. The PAN won 3 states, and the MC won one.
Even during the 2021 election process itself, there were protests by the opposition in various states won by Morena, alleging precisely that the ruling party had merged with drug trafficking groups in those states. The states of Sinaloa, Michoacán, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Colima, Nayarit, and Sonora stood out for the opposition protests. To quell the criticism and cover up the collusion between Morena and drug cartels, several of the outgoing governors were rewarded with posts at embassies or consulates. Notably, the former governors of Sonora, Baja California, and Campeche were appointed to diplomatic posts. They remain in those positions to this day.
The electoral bodies, which Morena partially controlled at the time, rejected the state-level challenges, and none of the protests were upheld.
With these results, governments colluding with organized crime took office in the states where Morena won. Criminals occupied positions in finance, public works, security, and justice. This collusion continued throughout the remainder of López Obrador’s six-year term and the first three years of Sheinbaum’s term, reflecting a clear commitment to maintaining it. It persists to this day.
Surprisingly, “an office in southern New York” sabotaged what appeared to be a controlled and peaceful transition between the colluding administrations. The criminal complaint filed against Governor Rocha of Sinaloa and his political and criminal operatives shattered the honeymoon period. And now more criminal charges are coming—against the governor of Baja California and the governors of Sonora and Tamaulipas, among others. And, as reported by The New York Times, more than 20 Morena officials have contacted U.S. judicial authorities to inform on their party colleagues for their ties to organized crime. Morena is going from success to collapse.
Suddenly, Morena has found itself in a bind regarding the nomination of its candidates for the governorships of those states. All potential contenders are under suspicion. What will happen when Morena nominates its candidate for governor of Sonora and a U.S. “agency” claims that he is under investigation for suspected ties to organized crime? Baja California? Michoacán? Guerrero? Zacatecas?
Morena’s political problem is that it wants people to believe its ties to drug trafficking are not deep-rooted and can be turned on and off at will. But Morena has already discovered that this is not the case. You don’t invite drug cartels into your home thinking they’ll leave peacefully when you ask them to. They have their own needs, demands, and conditions—ones that can mean the difference between life and death. And they leave when they want to, not when they’re ordered to. Or they simply stay.
In every state governed by Morena, those who run for governor will already be bound by that unspoken alliance.
All of its candidates, no matter how upstanding they may seem on the campaign trail, will eventually have to answer to organized crime and honor the agreements made back in the days of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Morena is trapped in the web of its own “success.” It thought it would rule for a thousand years, like the Third Reich. It lasted until its lie was exposed, and now it must find a way out of its own invention: “hugs, not bullets.”
It is hurtling at breakneck speed from its honeymoon with power toward internal political decay.
@rpascoep