The outlook for the PRI.
President Enrique Pena Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) appointed a new chairman on May 2, one month into the formal campaign period of July's presidential election. In an apparent effort to revive enthusiasm among traditional 'priistas' -- many of whom are disappointed with the experimental appointment of non-PRI member Jose Antonio Meade as presidential candidate -- former Guerrero Governor Rene Juarez Cisneros replaces the more reformist Enrique Ochoa Reza. The appointments illustrate the difficulties facing the PRI as it tries to adapt to new political realities and salvage something from the elections; with Meade trailing in voting intentions, the party looks set for a crushing defeat.
Juarez will struggle to win any of this year’s nine gubernatorial races; the PRI is not the favourite in any of them.
The PRI may also end up third in terms of its share of congressional seats in both chambers, an unprecedented result.
Ideological tensions will push some PRI members to migrate to Morena.
