“Democracy or authoritarianism”
Since she was 20 years old, Claudia Ruiz Massieu has been a member of the PRI and a member of the tricolor political class, to which her family belongs, and today that she seeks to be a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, she tries to distance herself from the partisan seal by pointing out, that the mobilizations of November 13 and February 26 in defense of democracy showed that citizens will not wait for a party to lead a candidacy in 2024, but rather for a project to be built with a coalition government, with the best cadres and profiles no matter what party they are from or if they don’t have a party.
“I think that this is the new way, no longer thinking only about political parties in the traditional sense, but that the citizens, who are increasingly more informed, more participatory and who are very diverse throughout the country, do want to see reflected that diversity and wants effective governments”. For this reason, he emphasizes that the 2024 contest is clear: it will be the dispute between “democracy or authoritarianism” and even “dictatorship”, by highlighting the growing military power given by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
What is at stake in the 2024 election?
I believe that in 2024, Mexicans are going to be in the dilemma of deciding what kind of country we want: a country where all Mexicans –who are very diverse and who live in a country of contrasting realities– feel part of a identity and a national project or a country where you feel excluded if you don’t think like the one who governs you (…) who is looking to the past to solve today’s problems, not even thinking about the future to come, and we know that it has to be more inclusive, more sustainable, more supportive of all the regions of the country.
-And you want to lead this effort in the country?
I have raised my hand. That is the project that interests me to lead, not to be a candidate for a party or a sum of parties, but to lead a broad, plural, civic, inclusive project; that the parties support institutionally and that they call for a country where we all fit and that does have to be more supportive, more generous, more just. And build peace, which has a social fabric component, collaborative work, not imposition.
What are the strengths that you bring to the table?
I have 30 years of experience in public service where I have given results, my professional resume is there for everyone to see. I have made mistakes but I have also had many results; as a representative twice, today as a senator, always seeking to build with others, that is why I have so many friends and allies in other parties, I have always had to be a legislator in the opposition.
Everyone has their strengths and their history, mine is that of work, dedication, overcoming adversity, results that are in sight and a vision of this plural Mexico that is necessary to reach our potential, but also to overcome our challenges. . Everyone’s vision and everyone’s work has to be part of that Mexico that we want to build, I don’t think that in this big Mexico there is only room for just one voice to say how things have to be.
Will the challenge be huge for the next president, even if he is from Morena?
For whoever it is because that is the reality that we are going to have; In addition, public spending is so committed to works that we don’t even know if they are going to end or what they are going to be used for or all focused on social programs, which seem important to me and must be maintained, but which are not the solution to overcome poverty and inequality in the country. The only thing that will help us to close this inequality gap is to generate more jobs, more opportunities, and that implies that there must be public investment, private investment with a long-term vision.
The president will no longer be on the 2024 ballots, but with part of the electoral “Plan B” he wants to maintain his morning conferences during the campaigns. That how will he play?
Yes, (he wants to) load the dice in favor of Morena and continue to influence thousands of candidates in the 2024 election. What did he do? I don’t like the rules of the game, I change them to favor me. That is a democratic setback, that is why I say: the type of country we want is at stake in 2024, democratic or authoritarian, inclusive or exclusive, looking to the future or looking to the past. It is at stake that there is the ability to add all the visions in a single project of the country or that you want to impose a single reality of the country.
But, an important sector continues to believe and support the president…
I think there is a confusion between the appreciation that people have for the president as a (political) figure, I think López Obrador feels, in this capacity that he has to connect with people and also to simplify and say many things that are not true, but saying it in a way that people make it their own (helps) (…) people know that there is a bad government, but the president appreciates him.
There are those who warn of a “dictatorship”, is it an exaggeration to describe it that way?
It is not an exaggeration to say: We are in the dilemma of democracy or authoritarianism. A regime that concentrates all power in one person, that colonizes or minimizes autonomous bodies, that wants to run over other powers, that uses justice, censorship, or encourages the persecution of its critics, its adversaries, the media, because it is an autocratic regime. There is no other.
A regime where you can only give your opinion as the one who governs, is not a democratic regime and that is what we have seen these four years, that concentration of power, that polarization where only the autocrat wins.
What role does the Army play in this?
It is one of the most delicate components; resting all in the Armed Forces. And in Mexico we appreciate them and we love them very much because they were limited to certain tasks. Being detained by a military officer is not the same as being detained by a police officer, and what we have to do is invest in professional and trained police officers, it is not an issue that can be resolved in six years, but it implies political will.
Who is going to return them (to their barracks)? Because more and more they are given more civil tasks, more economic power and it seems to be also political power.
That is the risk of authoritarian regimes: giving so many spaces for action to the Armed Forces for which they are not trained and that puts our rights and freedoms at risk. How are we going to do it? With a new social understanding and with a dialogue that has to involve the Armed Forces, firm, but with the support of the citizenry.
We cannot renounce a democratic country and say that we want a country where the Armed Forces do everything, because this involves living in a dictatorship or an authoritarian regime where force is what limits your actions as a citizen, and that is not good.
“The type of country we want is at stake in 2024, democratic or authoritarian, inclusive or exclusive, looking to the future or looking to the past.”
Claudia Ruiz Massieu, PRI senator.
