Jalisco PRI airs dirty laundry

The PRI and its supposedly legendary machine sputtered on July 2 - even in enclaves like Oaxaca, where some of the party's old-school tactics live on. (Look at the situation there to see what it eventually brought about.) But in Jalisco, where the PRI nominated a seemingly attractive candidate and the PAN appeared stale after 12 years of governance, things were supposed to be different. Unlike the PAN, which went on the attack and really never focused too heavily on its track record or candidate, the PRI fronted Arturo Zamora and based their campaigns on the former Zapopan mayor. He performed reasonably well, but couldn't escape untimely allegations and document leaks that purportedly linked him to fraud. Having the PGR appear on his Valle Real doorstep mere days before the election didn't help either.

Perhaps some of the PRI defections to the PRD on the state level earlier this year weren't so opportunistic - after all, if the party is in this big a mess and the alleged culture of buying nominations and cronyism exists, why not jump? And perhaps the PAN legislator I interviewed last month about his party's success was correct when he suggested that the PRI erred by only promoting Zamora and that the PAN capitalized on lingering discontent from PRI rule prior to 1995.