This editorial by Francisco Lemus originally appeared in the September 18, 2025 edition of Rebelion. Our editorial policy is here.
A radicalized right, far from encouraging the left to stand firm in its convictions and commit to more intense social policies committed to the working class, has been the best pretext for promoting its own laziness and conformism. The same thing that can be seen in the United States is also evident in Mexico.
The neoliberalized left has co-opted the electoral left, which can only focus on serving the interests of large business groups and settle for proposing the bare minimum for a project that claims to defend the working classes.
Ricardo Salinas Pliego
In Mexico, Morena takes advantage of the scarecrow posed by a junior loudmouth like Ricardo Salinas Pliego, simply saying: “Look, there lies the danger of the far right, let’s focus on combating it and not on my poor performance.” This is the only way to continue its path of little commitment to the working class, for example, by postponing the debate on the 40-hour work week.
In the United States, this story is already familiar. It was impossible to demand anything more from the Democrats in the face of the risk of Trump’s right-wing authoritarianism, another junior loudmouth who seemed nothing more than a clown to professional politicians, those who have spent their lives in Washington lobbying for the interests of big business.
This allowed them to pursue practices quite consistent with the right while claiming to be allies of the working class, even though the majority of workers did not feel that there was any real benefit for them from the Democratic victories.
In Mexico, as usual, we follow in the footsteps of our northern neighbor, always with the worst examples. A junior who is unpleasant to most Mexicans is presented as a rebel, someone who represents the alternative.
If it weren’t for social media and his shady dealings, the guy would be nothing more than a crazy person with no chance, but the Morena party itself is primarily interested in promoting the image of the idiot millionaire so they can continue to make the minimum effort in exchange for presenting themselves as allies of the working classes in the face of the risk he represents.
Salinas Pliego doesn’t know that bots can’t vote, and that’s probably why he thinks he can make a political career out of it. It’s impossible for him to garner effective support, at least not in the coming years. But if he maintains his false commitment to the people, Morena will be the best promoter of this junior fool.
All this talk about the far right and the risks it entails, especially to avoid effective criticism, is a terrible strategy for the electoral left, but it does prevent them from having to give too much power to the people and thereby ensure that the resources of the upper classes continue to flow to their organization.
The public—although eclipsed (to use John Dewey’s phrase)—easily recognizes betrayal and, in the absence of effective options, may end up voting for someone who represents an alternative. This already happened with [Mexico’s former President Vicente] Fox, but more radically has happened in the United States with Trump, in Argentina with Milei, or in Brazil with Bolsonaro, always with terrible results.
The false leftist game Morena is playing and the lack of real results for its voters could pave the way for the most reactionary and authoritarian right wing possible, with disastrous results for democracy and freedoms in general, a situation very much in keeping with the times we live in globally.
The Democrats did not cease supporting Netanyahu, even with a genocide underway. Passing that torch to Trump was intended to free them from direct responsibility but not from complicity, another point they share with the current Mexican presidency, which doesn’t even dare to show a shred of dignity and break with the spurious State of Israel.
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