Young Technocrat Appointed as Institutional Revolutionary Party Ruling Leader Juan Montes - The Wall Street Journal
go to original July 13, 2016

Enrique Ochoa, seen here in February, is the new leader of Mexico’s ruling party. (Matthew Busch/Bloomberg News)

Young technocrat Enrique Ochoa was named as the new president of Mexico’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party Tuesday, positioning him as a possible contender to be the party’s nominee in the 2018 presidential election.

Mr. Ochoa, a 43-year-old former government official and constitutional law professor with little experience in party politics, will have the task of lifting the party’s spirits and electoral prospects after heavy losses in state elections last month. The PRI, as the party is widely known, lost seven of the 12 state governorships at stake.

The acid test for Mr. Ochoa will be next year’s elections in the central state of Mexico, the home state of President Enrique Peña Nieto, and the states of Nayarit and Coahuila. Victories in those states could solidify a bid for the presidency, some analysts say, at a moment when there is not a clear candidate for the ruling party.

Mr. Ochoa took office for three years promising to renew the PRI and make it more transparent.

“We have to open the party’s doors to criticism and self-criticism,” he said Tuesday in a speech after being sworn in at PRI headquarters.

Several PRI state governors and former governors have been accused in recent months by opponents of corruption, including alleged mismanagement and diversion of federal funds. All have denied any wrongdoing.

But critics showed some skepticism about the party’s renewal, after Mr. Ochoa was appointed—different party sectors supported Mr. Peña Nieto’s favored candidate without any significant opposition.

Read the rest at The Wall Street Journal

Related: New Ruling Party Chairman Ochoa Calls for "Modern" Relationship with Mexican Government (EFE)

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