Narco-Morena… Again? – Soberanía 108
In episode 108 of Soberanía, hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth break down the latest astroturf campaign targeting Mexico’s government and why it’s likely to backfire.
The episode opens with Sin Embargo‘s investigation into “Mexicanos al Grito de Paz,” a shadowy group backed by billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego that has been organizing flash mobs and banner campaigns against President Sheinbaum. Following the same playbook as the failed “Gen Z” movement, the group’s social media follows just five accounts — all tied to the country’s rightist media — and pushes a single message: narco-Morena. The hosts explain why this one-note strategy is failing to gain traction with a Mexican public that has repeatedly rejected U.S.-backed smears.
Next, they examine Mexico’s proposed legislation to block foreign interference in elections; a direct response to U.S. meddling in Honduras, Argentina, and the upcoming Colombian elections. While the New York Times frames the move as authoritarian, the hosts clarify how electoral annulment actually works in Mexico: foreign interference would be just one of several legal grounds, and proving it changed an election result remains a high bar. Plus, new polling shows Morena has gained five points since February, while the PAN and PRI continue to collapse, the PAN now at just 4% party identification.
Losers and Haters takes aim at a journalist who criticized Mexico for agreeing to host Iran’s World Cup delegation in Tijuana after the U.S. refused to let them stay on American soil. The hosts dismantle her regurgitation of State Department talking points, noting the Iranian embassy’s gracious response and the Mexican government’s mature handling of a diplomatic logjam not of its making.
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Vasconcelos’ Team Clarifies That Ambassador Was Not Present During Netanyahu’s Speech
The team of Héctor Vasconcelos, Mexico’s permanent representative to the UN, clarified that he was not in the General Assembly hall during Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech, without specifying whether other delegation members joined the walkout.
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Larry Rubin Asks Senate to Reject Dual Nationality Reform Promoted by Sheinbaum
Larry Rubin, the Republican Party’s representative in Mexico, called on senators to reject President Sheinbaum’s reform requiring sole Mexican nationality for the presidency, governorships and head of government of Mexico City.
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Investigation into the 43 of Ayotzinapa Is Not Closed, President Sheinbaum Says
President Claudia Sheinbaum said the presentation of new progress in the Ayotzinapa case, including new lines of investigation and analysis of phones, does not mean the investigation into the 43 students is closed.
