Weary journalists frequently trot out the expression “a week is a long time in politics” instead of taxing their brains to offer more precise analysis.
Nonetheless, the cliche fits the mold exactly when applied to Samuel Garcia, the governor of Nuevo Leon who late last month announced his candidacy for the Mexican presidency for his Moveimiento Ciudadano (MC) party.
Hardly had the ink dried on our report of Garcia’s triumphant entry into Guadalajara on horseback (issue of December 2-8), than the 36-year-old politician had returned to Monterey to resolve a constitutional crisis in the state capital, announcing that he would not be running for president after all.
His swift decision shocked many pundits and sent the MC into disarray. But to many observers in Nuevo Leon, it was not unexpected given that the young governor had only been in office for two and a half years, and, more significantly, lacked a majority in the state Congress.
Garcia had taken a leave of absence from the governorship after announcing his bid for the presidency, leaving the decision to appoint his successor to state legislators. But he was overly optimistic in thinking representatives from the opposition Party of the Institutional Revolution (PRI) and National Action Party (PAN)—who have been fiercely critical of Garcia’s style of governing—would agree to appoint his recommendation for interim governor. Instead, the PRI and PAN teamed up to name one from their own ranks.
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