The Magnificent Seven, and an Excess of Optimism

At a reunion of the National Executive Committee of the PAN, seven figures were given the chance to address the crowd, which gives them a sort of stamp of legitimacy as contenders for the 2012 nomination: Santiago Creel, Heriberto Félix, Emilio González, Alonso Lujambio, Javier Lozano, Josefina Vázquez Mota, and Ernesto Cordero. This is not an awe-inspiring group, to say the least, and I would need very favorable odds to bet on any of them to defeat Enrique Peña Nieto. Having said that, I hope it's Vázquez Mota, and I think she has a better chance than anyone else to run a competitive campaign.

Also, evidently overtaken by the imperative of stirring the public, Gustavo Madero predicted victory not just in 2012, but in 2018 as well. Which would put the PAN more than one-third of the way to the PRI's total years in power. But why stop there? Hear me now, hear me all, says Madero, the PAN will rule in Mexico until the sun no longer rises in Cancún!!