Weekly Report - 06 August 2009 (WR-09-31)

MEXICO | PAN party presidency. On 4 August Santiago Creel, whom President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa defeated for the presidential nomination of the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) in 2005, refused to support César Nava for the party presidency. The election is on 8 August. To win, Nava, the only candidate, needs the support of 250 of the 370 members of the PAN Comité Ejecutivo Nacional (CEN).
    Calderón and Creel have famously poor relations. Calderón manoeuvred to get Creel dismissed as the leader of the PAN's bloc in the senate. Creel's offence is that he is open-minded and refuses to kowtow to the powerful television companies.
    Calderón is trying to ensure that Nava wins. He has been meeting other Panistas and apparently has an agreement, but he did not share this document with Creel. Creel has made it clear that he will vote against Nava before he goes on holiday. The big question is whether he can persuade another 120 CEN members to do the same.