Mexico is ramping up for presidential elections next year, and the country’s ruling party has set out a plan to select a candidate for its coveted nomination. The party's nominee is widely expected to win the general election.
MORENA, the party of Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is considered the front-runner in the country’s June 2024 presidential election.
On Sunday, Sonora Gov. Alfonso Durazo, who heads the Morena national council, announced a plan to select a candidate without creating division within the party.
Unidad, transparencia y democracia en la primera sesión extraordinaria del Consejo Nacional. Agradezco y reconozco a mis compañeras y compañeros por su enorme voluntad política. pic.twitter.com/dCS9mIGkZu
— Alfonso Durazo (@AlfonsoDurazo) June 12, 2023
The party’s nominee will be selected through a process of nationwide polling and will be announced on Sept. 6.
Those planning to run for the nomination are expected to step down from public office and must formally register their candidacy by this Friday. They will be allowed to campaign nationwide until late August, when polling will take place. There will not be any debates, and party members currently holding public office are not allowed to endorse any of the candidates, according to the party's plan.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard was the first to resign from his post in order to ramp up his campaign, and on Monday Interior Secretary Adan Lopez, Senator Ricardo Monreal and Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum followed suit.
The MORENA party's popularity still revolves around López Obrador, who cannot run for president again when his six-year term ends next year. He has said he will retire from politics.
