Significance: The leader of Morena, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is intent on using the mass CNTE protests against the federal government’s education reform as the unofficial launch for his third straight bid to win the presidency in 2018. The Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) government led by President Enrique Peña Nieto sees this as political opportunism, conscious that López Obrador will seek to capitalise on any popular protest to support his narrative of a corrupt and authoritarian establishment repressing the poor and disenfranchised. But the government is also aware that the PRI suffered a series of humbling defeats in the 5 June gubernatorial, state legislative, and municipal elections and that in order to revive its fortunes it needs to be seen to be listening to protesters.
End of preview - This article contains approximately 389 words.
Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article
Not a Subscriber?
Choose from one of the following options
