Erika Hernandez/Agencia Reforma
Thursday, May 11, 2023 | 2:29 p.m.
Mexico City.- In the midst of an internal war that began with kicks under the table and grew to slaps in full view of all, the national leader of Morena, Mario Delgado, demanded that the presidential candidates bring their operators to the belt.
In an interview with REFORMA, the leader challenged the so-called Morenista ‘corcholatas’ to show that they are capable of governing, starting with disciplining their supporters to stop the dirty war, which, he predicts, will intensify in the coming weeks.
To the accusation by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and his team of failing to set clear rules for the internal conflict since December, Delgado responds that, if he had done so, the issue would be who violates the agreement the most and the wear and tear would be greater.
For Delgado, the meeting that the “corcholatas” held with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on April 30 at the National Palace, was to summon them to unity and take care of the 4T project.
“That they be aware that we are experiencing a historic process and that if we go together it is very difficult for us to have an unexpected result. If we go together it is clear that we are going to win the Presidency, and in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate we are going to have the enough votes to have a qualified majority and be able to make constitutional reforms,” he said.
However, he acknowledged, it did change the perception of the applicants about the process, since they came out with the idea that the time to define the route will be shortened and they need to accelerate their growth and popularity.
-What will the leadership do in the face of an internal struggle on the rise?
“I think it’s going to get more intense, there will be more tension between the teams, it seems to me that they (the applicants) are behaving up to par, but the teams, to look good with their bosses, with their boss, do inappropriate things or reckless.
“So, more than a lack of rules, there must be a call from the corcholatas to their teams to have respect, to behave with brotherhood, not to attack. It is not a lack of rules, but a lack of principles and political orientation of some who make up the corcholatas teams”.
-You are held responsible for generating confrontation by not establishing rules.
“If there were rules, they would say, they are not respected. Who did not respect it? Well, so-and-so because there is a barrier in their favor or so-and-so who erased it. We would fall into a debate that would be more exhausting for everyone.”
-Are you concerned about the excesses in the proselytism of corcholatas?
“I’ve heard that they are disclaiming, that they are not directly participating, and there are people who want to look good with the caps, so they commit any number of excesses.”
For Delgado, the key to unity is not in the leadership, but in the aspirants to end the dirty war.
“Whoever aspires to lead this country has to show leadership among his supporters: if you want to be President of the Nation, you must show that you have discipline and leadership among the people who support you and who don’t go around doing crazy things,” he warns.
The route
Mario Delgado insists that the dates of the internal process will be agreed upon in the first week of June, but the intention is that the call is ready by the second half of that same month.
The National Council of his party, of which the Governors are also a part, would take one or two weeks to refine the list, which is expected to be numerous, despite the fact that there are four clear profiles. The first survey is held between July and August.
Due to the fact that in his meeting with the four candidates, the President revealed that there could only be one poll, Delgado assures that these scenarios will be included in the call.
“There could be a single survey, but it will depend on how many sign up for the call. If four or five profiles sign up, perhaps a second survey would no longer be relevant,” he said.
Even though the statutes provide for a political agreement, for Delgado a second survey would be better, because this exercise is the legacy of López Obrador, which would be applied between September and October.
The intention is for the Morena National Survey Commission to carry out both exercises, and two private companies to carry out mirror surveys.
He specified that once it is revealed who will be “the Coordinator of the Committees of the Fourth Transformation”, a position that the candidate will assume to respect the legal term, he must resign from his position as an official.
Delgado considered that it would not be convenient for the public servants who compete to leave their position before.
“Why resign before? Doing acts of proselytism would put us at risk of falling into early campaign acts, but it is something that we all have to discuss and see if we can find some formula for it,” he added.
“We are going through an unprecedented process, starting from the dialogue between all of us, it is how we can reconcile the different positions so that everyone feels comfortable with the process.”
Break with Ebrard?
A large part of Delgado’s political career has been due to the positions in which Ebrard placed him, but after 2019 they have been seen to be distant, even some morenistas assure that they are in opposing blocks.
In this regard, the leader of Morena denied that there is a break with the Chancellor, and assured that, in “difficult times”, he has shown his friendship and loyalty.
“I do not have any lawsuit, rupture, distancing, as some would like to make it seem, I am in my role as president of the party and there it is my turn to be impartial; I have no complicity with him, nor with Dr. Sheinbaum, nor with Adán Augusto, nor with Ricardo”, assured.
– Do you see anger in Ebrard because of how the internal contention takes place?
“Marcelo is an intelligent, mature, committed politician, he has every right, the legitimacy, to participate in this process, but I don’t think he’s angry, I can’t find a reason why he could be. I see him as very active and forward. “.
– Is there no fear that Ebrard will go to the opposition if the result is not what he expected?
“He is a man of principles, he is not going to oppose a project that he helped build, that he promoted. I don’t think he or Adán or Claudia or Ricardo do it. The President trusts them, he calls them brothers” .
