Fabiola Martinez
Newspaper La Jornada
Friday, July 22, 2022, p. 5
The order to the political parties to nominate a woman in the entity where they have the best chance of victory provoked a long –and at times polarized– discussion in the National Electoral Institute (INE).
Although the issue seemed to be pending, during the session of the General Council of the INE to comply with two rulings of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Power of the Federation (TEPJF), it was evident that not even the councilors have reached a consensus on the issue; for example, what should be understood by competitiveness, despite the fact that the mechanism will be launched in 2023, when the governorships of the states of Coahuila and Mexico are disputed.
Outright, Senator Jorge Carlos Ramírez Marín (PRI) told them that the measure is a interference in the internal life of the parties
, an overreach
that could be counterproductive even with respect to the purposes it pursues.
In principle, because if the indication to the parties is: nominate at least one woman where they are more competitive, what determines that condition? I can’t say ladies only, gentlemen back off
he pointed.
He gave his party an example, when after losing Yucatán he managed to regain the governorship in 2007 through a woman, Ivonne Ortega. In other words, if the agreement –finally approved on Wednesday at the General Council of the INE– had been at that time, even if there was a competitive candidate, she would not have been given the opportunity in a state in the hands of the opponent.
After many interventions and four proposals to vote on, the only addition to the initial project was to allow the parties to adjust their rules through guidelines.
At the proposal of the counselor Carla Humphrey, the INE will allow the parties that way in case they do not manage to adjust their basic documents on the deadline (next October 31); yes, no later than next December they must inform you where they will put a woman and why, ahead of the 2023 elections.
The political institutes themselves accuse a lag of internal rules in the face of political violence based on gender; At the moment only PT and PRD have complied, despite the fact that the indication was issued in 2020.
In this context, it will be up to the INE to review and endorse immediate compliance with the substantive parity ordered by the superior chamber of the TEPJF.
Along the way were the presentations of other members of the council (advisors and party representatives, the latter without the right to vote) that exemplified scenarios of conflict.
Here we are not oracles [pero] It would be unfair for women from the state of Mexico to be excluded or for male applicants from Morena in this entity to be ruled out beforehand
commented the counselor Jaime Rivera.
Meanwhile, the counselor Adriana Favela stressed, before the avalanche of points of view, that it was not an order from the INE, but from the magistrates and, in that case, they will express it to the superior court.
