INE declares the PRD, barely 35 years old, dead

Lilian Hernandez Osorio

The newspaper La Jornada
Friday, September 20, 2024, p. 10

Yesterday, after 35 years of existence, the PRD became extinct. The General Council of the National Electoral Institute (INE) officially declared the loss of its registration, for not having obtained 3 percent of the valid votes cast in the federal election of June 2.

Although in the early hours of June 3 it was known that it would be extinguished, yesterday the official verdict was a kind of death certificate, with which its presence in the Horseshoe of Democracy concluded. Before declaring the end, the 11 councilors and representatives of PAN, PRI, MC and PT expressed their positions, applauded their achievements and agreed that the PRD was a key piece in the formation and consolidation of democracy in Mexico.

Only Morena and the PVEM remained silent. In fact, the representative of the green party, Sergio Gutiérrez Luna, connected virtually to the session without showing his camera, so it was not known if he was present at the time when this historic issue in Mexican politics was addressed.

PRD representative Ángel Ávila Romero gave a speech about the history of the party and its contributions to the country’s public life, but also pointed out that it made mistakes, and although he did not admit that one of them was having allied itself with the PAN and the PRI, he commented that they bet on the coalition because in 2021 it did work for them.

Upon leaving the meeting room, Ángel Ávila explained that the PRD remains alive as a local party in 13 states: Baja California Sur, Sonora, Mexico City, Mexico City, Michoacán, Morelos, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Guerrero, Tabasco, Zacatecas and Oaxaca.

It is a day of mourning for Mexican democracy; this record belongs to the Mexican Communist Party (PCM), and finally to the PRDwhere there were figures who not only put all their effort and commitment into seeing it born, but also gave their lives and were even imprisoned for pursuing their ideals.

The party contributed to the formation of democracy in this country and we are proud of what we have contributed to Mexican life. It has been a driving force and participated in the construction of institutions such as the INE or the electoral courts.

He said they should accept the results and learn from their mistakes, but today it seems that We are returning to the old days, with a party that does not consult others, that represses and threatens its opponents. Today it seems that we are once again going through those dark times..

Before the statements, councilor Uuc-kib Espadas said that he joined the PCM in 1976, which over time became the PRD, where he was a member until 2007, and he asked to excuse himself from intervening in this resolution, since his loss of registration represented a personal void, but his colleagues voted against, so he had to vote.

Councilor Dania Ravel said that the PRD sought to make Mexico more just, equal, supportive, humane and democratic. Meanwhile, the representative of the PAN, Víctor Hugo Sondón, recalled that it emerged after the electoral fraud of 1988, sponsored by Manuel Bartlett, and it did so as a real opposition option to the PRI.

Meanwhile, her colleague Carla Humphrey stressed that she was a central and decisive ally in guaranteeing women’s rights in the country. While Norma de la Cruz recalled that in 1997 she became the second political force in Congress.

PRI representative Marcela Guerra summarized that her loss of national registration marks the closing of a significant page in the political history of Mexico and a blow to plurality.