Chuchos on the Rise

Excélsior reports today from the deep entrails of the PRD's internal politics, discovering that the Chuchos (also known as the New Left, and left by party boss Jesús Ortega) control 45 percent of the plurinominal deputy candidates. Thanks to intra-party alliances and a strong slate of direct-vote candidates, the Chuchos could wind up in control of two thirds of the party's seats. Any relatively in depth assessment of the PRD's internal politics has the chaotic feel of the Israeli parliament. It would be fantastic for the PRD if some of those several hundred thousand wings of the party mentioned in the article could permanently coalesce around the Chuchos. 

It'll be interesting to see the reaction of the party activists if, as expected, the party sinks to a distant third in the Chamber of Deputies. They can't really blame Ortega, who's not been in his post long enough to have a measurable impact, and who entered with enormous obstacles to success. At the same time, it's hard to see Ortega emerging as a dominant figure (or the Chuchos as a dominant movement) if the party scoops up a mere 20 percent of the votes. Most likely, it will remain the same madhouse it is today.