Correspondents' Correspondence
NADLE, Mexican Maverick \ MARIENE
Correspondents' Correspondence BRIEF TAKEOUTS OF MORE THAN PERSONAL INTEREST FROM LETTERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS. Mexican Maverick Mexico City—The visitor here...
...Slim though Cardenas' chances of actually capturing the presidency may be—especially given the PRI's history of electoral machinations and vote padding—it is likely that his National Democratic Front will emerge as a second political force...
...At rallies Cardenas declares that he would take the money currently destined for the debt repayment and use it "to reactivate the economic and social growth which is indispensible for the recuperation of our country...
...His economic adviser, Ifigenia Martinez, recommends that this be done on the basis of its market value, at present roughly half of the nominal obligation...
...Cardenas' popularity and the shift in the national mood (made apparent not long ago when peasants doused Salinas with water) have begun to pry the ruling party away from its commitment to service the debt at all costs...
...has introduced legislation that would provide relief for all debtor nations through a market-value renegotiation similar to the Cardenas proposal...
...If it is to belie opponents' claims that "PRI can be voted out of power before the end of the century," it will have to adopt at least some of the elements of Cardenas' nationalist vision of Mexico's economy...
...The PRI has survived this long as Mexico's ruling party by shrewdly giving its critics a good part of what they have asked for...
...Despite his favoring a more active state role in Mexico's economy and government ownership in certain key sectors, his rhetoric is not Sodalist...
...For after nearly 60 years of continuous rule, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) is facing its most fundamental challenge...
...Cardenas is waging an aggressive fight for a nationalist alternative that would give priority to basic domestic needs...
...Mexican Maverick Mexico City—The visitor here cannot escape the impression that whatever the outcome of Mexico's July 6 presidential election, the country's economic course and political life are on the verge of changing...
...He further insists oil exports must be cut back, observing that "our resources, which are limited and need careful management, are now being used to pay the debt...
...In addition, he has initiated a lobbying effort on Capitol Hill—an opportune move, since Representative Don Pease (D.-Md...
...He is also doing well in the countryside, where the land redistribution launched by his father, Lazaro Cardenas (the President from 1934 to 1940), is still fondly recalled...
...In a recent Mexico City poll conducted by the Institute for Public Opinion, Cuauhtemoc Cardenas was backed by 35 per cent of the electorate, versus 38 per cent for PRI's Carlos Salinas and 27 for the conservative National Action Party's Manuel Clouthier...
...Cardenas is calling for a moratorium on servicing Mexico's international debt until it can be renegotiated...
...Salinas is now saying repayment should be linked to "sustainable economic growth...
...A June 1 nationwide Gallup poll gave Salinas 56 per cent, followed by Cardenas with 23 and Clouthier with 19...
...One local journalist has gone so far as to say, "Salinas may win the presidency, but Cardenas' policies will capture the government...
...That might sound like empty campaign verbiage, but if Salinas wins the election by only a narrow margin, he may be forced to take steps to lighten the debt burden and relax the related austerity program in order to strengthen his mandate...
...That would leave the PRI little choice but to negotiate with it on the matter of economic direction...
...Indeed, Salinas has already sent potential cabinet members to meet with American politicians who might help mitigate the onerous U.S.-IMF terms imposed on Mexico...
...His view has gained surprising support from other PRI dissidents and among Leftist groupings, which earlier this month united behind him by withdrawing their own presidential candidate...
...Marlene Nadle...
...The man who has mounted that challenge is Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, candidate of the National Democratic Front and son of one of Mexico's most revered former presidents...
...He recently split with the PRI because of its unwillingness to alter an economic policy urged by Washington and the International Monetary Fund that stresses austerity, exports and open markets in an effort to meet foreign debt obligations...
...Rather, he talks about channeling more money into agriculture to help the poor rural population, and providing incentives to small and medium-sized businesses instead of merely fostering large industries geared to foreign markets...
Vol. 71 • June 1988 • No. 10
