‘El Bronco’ bucks longtime political tradition David Agren
Candidate first independent to be governor
Jaime “El Bronco” Rodríguez, who is fond of cowboy boots and cussing, bucked Mexico’s entrenched political system and history by becoming the first independent to win a governor’s seat.
Rodríguez won the race in wealthy Nuevo León state in northern Mexico, part of the country’s midterm elections, which were marked by low turnout and citizen contempt for corruption-plagued political parties.
“Mexico has awakened, and Nuevo León is the example of citizens being awakened,” Rodrí- guez told supporters in Monterrey after nabbing nearly 49% of the vote Sunday night. Before the voting, he had promised to give Mexico’s political parties “a six-year vacation.”
The rise of independent candidates such as “El Bronco” threatens the power of political parties in Mexico, which hold privileges such as exclusive access to radio and TV for placing political messages and the right to annual public financing of more than $400 million. The parties controlled ballot access until the rules were changed for this year’s elections, allowing independents to run.
Rodríguez survived two assassination attempts by the Los Zetas drug cartel when he was mayor of a Monterrey-area municipality and lost a son who was killed in an attempted abduction. A young daughter was kidnapped but returned unharmed.
He beat the big parties and overcame negative media coverage in the Monterrey area by arming social media campaigns with colorful language. He personally responded to hundreds of WhatsApp messages sent daily by supporters who were given his cellphone number.
The win “represents the ability of an independent candidate to challenge the parties. This is what he represents in the imaginations of many,” independent political analyst Fernando Dworak said.
Dworak cautioned, though, “‘El Bronco’ isn’t going to change much.”
President Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party emerged from the midterm elections with a majority in the lower house of Congress that will let him forge ahead with his agenda without compromising too heavily with opponents.