Ulises Ruiz, Plan Puebla Panamá, and the August 5 Oaxaca Elections

Me: They sense the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) is going down.

Upcoming elections for the state legislature on August 5 are wide open and complex. PRI control of all three branches of government might finally crack. Non-PRI deputies could: support Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (URO); or rein in URO; (I don’t have much hope for removing him, but he might take a leave of absence); they could be allies of neoliberalism or they could be allies of the people. Some from the Movement opposed to participation in the elections still speak out; others point out that the lower the voter turnout, the better the chance for PRI victories, because the hard core always votes.

But there’s no doubt that with or without the PRI, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz has become both a terror and laughing-stock. So what if URO is naked? Who cares? If the PRI fades in Oaxaca, will the PAN (National Action Party) take over instead? Will another alignment work for or against the neoliberal project?