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| Independent El Bronco aims to buck Mexico's politics-as-usual trend | Independent El Bronco aims to buck Mexico's politics-as-usual trend |
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| Jaime Rodríguez likes it when people call him El Bronco. The nickname, he claims, reflects an untamed nature that explains how he became the first independent candidate with a realistic shot at winning a major election in Mexico. | Jaime Rodríguez likes it when people call him El Bronco. The nickname, he claims, reflects an untamed nature that explains how he became the first independent candidate with a realistic shot at winning a major election in Mexico. |
| “I won’t be pushed around, and people respond to that,” said El Bronco of his attempt to become governor of the northern state of Nuevo León in elections this Sunday that will also completely renovate the lower house of Congress, elect eight other new governors and nearly 900 new mayors. | “I won’t be pushed around, and people respond to that,” said El Bronco of his attempt to become governor of the northern state of Nuevo León in elections this Sunday that will also completely renovate the lower house of Congress, elect eight other new governors and nearly 900 new mayors. |
| “We need to push the mafias out of power,” he said. | “We need to push the mafias out of power,” he said. |
| El Bronco’s swashbuckling candidacy directly challenges the stranglehold maintained by Mexico’s two main political parties, and could pave the way for a serious independent contender in Mexico’s next presidential elections in 2018. | El Bronco’s swashbuckling candidacy directly challenges the stranglehold maintained by Mexico’s two main political parties, and could pave the way for a serious independent contender in Mexico’s next presidential elections in 2018. |
| A win by El Bronco, as predicted by some polls, would hint at the biggest potential shake up of the Mexican political system since the National Action Party (the Pan), ended 71 years of continuous rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Pri) in 2000. | A win by El Bronco, as predicted by some polls, would hint at the biggest potential shake up of the Mexican political system since the National Action Party (the Pan), ended 71 years of continuous rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Pri) in 2000. |
| “[El Bronco’s campaign] is very important because it loosens the political imagination to go beyond politics as usual,” said political analyst Federico Estévez. “The message that independent candidates can win is very worrying for the political parties.” | “[El Bronco’s campaign] is very important because it loosens the political imagination to go beyond politics as usual,” said political analyst Federico Estévez. “The message that independent candidates can win is very worrying for the political parties.” |
| Related: Computer files link TV dirty tricks to favourite for Mexico presidency | Related: Computer files link TV dirty tricks to favourite for Mexico presidency |
| Estévez stressed that El Bronco’s popularity bears little resemblance to the success of insurgent parties in Europe, such as Spain’s Podemos or Syriza in Greece – after all, the candidate was a member of the Pri for 33 years. He resigned in September, just after a constitutional reform giving independents in Mexico the possibility of standing. | Estévez stressed that El Bronco’s popularity bears little resemblance to the success of insurgent parties in Europe, such as Spain’s Podemos or Syriza in Greece – after all, the candidate was a member of the Pri for 33 years. He resigned in September, just after a constitutional reform giving independents in Mexico the possibility of standing. |
| But his message that “it’s all about corruption” nevertheless resonates in a country weary of scandal: fresh allegations of wrongdoing emerge every week, from allegations of kickbacks given for government contracts to deals with organised crime. | But his message that “it’s all about corruption” nevertheless resonates in a country weary of scandal: fresh allegations of wrongdoing emerge every week, from allegations of kickbacks given for government contracts to deals with organised crime. |
| And whatever his party political roots, his campaign – relying on the internet to channel frustration over politics-as-usual – remains an extraordinary feat. | And whatever his party political roots, his campaign – relying on the internet to channel frustration over politics-as-usual – remains an extraordinary feat. |
| While his opponents can draw on huge amounts of public financing for blanket advertising campaigns, El Bronco has been sidelined by mainstream media. Local TV and radio stations have either ignored him completely or portrayed him as a dangerous populist. | While his opponents can draw on huge amounts of public financing for blanket advertising campaigns, El Bronco has been sidelined by mainstream media. Local TV and radio stations have either ignored him completely or portrayed him as a dangerous populist. |
| During the campaign one of his two ex-wives accused Rodríguez of assaulting her during their marriage, an allegation he both denied and charged was part of a smear campaign against him orchestrated by the Pri. Silvia González, his former wife, has publicly backed the candidate of the Pri. | |
| At two recent rallies in poor neighbourhoods of the state capital Monterrey, supporters cheered loudly when Rodríguez pledged never to pay TV stations for favourable coverage – a tactic which many high-profile candidates are alleged to have used in the past. | At two recent rallies in poor neighbourhoods of the state capital Monterrey, supporters cheered loudly when Rodríguez pledged never to pay TV stations for favourable coverage – a tactic which many high-profile candidates are alleged to have used in the past. |
| Several in the crowd said their trust in El Bronco stemmed from his willingness to take on the cartels while he was mayor of the city of García, on the edge of the Monterrey metropolitan area, between 2009 and 2012 – a period when Nuevo León became a battlefield for the rival factions of the Gulf cartel and the Zetas. | Several in the crowd said their trust in El Bronco stemmed from his willingness to take on the cartels while he was mayor of the city of García, on the edge of the Monterrey metropolitan area, between 2009 and 2012 – a period when Nuevo León became a battlefield for the rival factions of the Gulf cartel and the Zetas. |
| Related: 'You can’t trust anybody': the Mexicans caught up in the drug war just south of Texas | Related: 'You can’t trust anybody': the Mexicans caught up in the drug war just south of Texas |
| Rodríguez was himself targeted by the narcos twice; in one attack, the story goes that he ordered his driver to turn back and use his armoured car to provide cover for his bodyguards, rather than speed away to safety. | Rodríguez was himself targeted by the narcos twice; in one attack, the story goes that he ordered his driver to turn back and use his armoured car to provide cover for his bodyguards, rather than speed away to safety. |
| “He went back to protect the people working for him,” said 63-year-old former builder José Estrada with admiration. “It makes me think he is sincere when he says he will go after the corruption in the political parties.” | “He went back to protect the people working for him,” said 63-year-old former builder José Estrada with admiration. “It makes me think he is sincere when he says he will go after the corruption in the political parties.” |
| Up on stage, El Bronco milked the emotional power of his life story – one which reflects the extraordinary levels of drug-fuelled violence that have become part of everyday life in much of the country. He pledged to dedicate his life to changing the country, he told the crowd, while cradling the corpse of his 22-year-old son, killed in a car accident while trying to escape a kidnapping attempt. | Up on stage, El Bronco milked the emotional power of his life story – one which reflects the extraordinary levels of drug-fuelled violence that have become part of everyday life in much of the country. He pledged to dedicate his life to changing the country, he told the crowd, while cradling the corpse of his 22-year-old son, killed in a car accident while trying to escape a kidnapping attempt. |
| “I know that I can deliver what I promise,” he said. “I didn’t bring you food handouts like the candidates of the political parties. I have brought you my heart and my strong character.” | “I know that I can deliver what I promise,” he said. “I didn’t bring you food handouts like the candidates of the political parties. I have brought you my heart and my strong character.” |
| What marks El Bronco’s campaign as unique is not his rhetoric, however, but his development of a digital version of the post-rally walkabouts in which he firmly shakes supporters’s hands and listens to their concerns. | What marks El Bronco’s campaign as unique is not his rhetoric, however, but his development of a digital version of the post-rally walkabouts in which he firmly shakes supporters’s hands and listens to their concerns. |
| Chatting in the van that drives him between campaign events, El Bronco said he begins each morning with two hours dedicated to answering the WhatsApp messages on his mobile, a number he gives out everywhere he goes. | Chatting in the van that drives him between campaign events, El Bronco said he begins each morning with two hours dedicated to answering the WhatsApp messages on his mobile, a number he gives out everywhere he goes. |
| But it is Facebook, he added, that sets the rhythm of his campaigning day around the state that shares a nine-mile border with Texas, and is home to some of Mexico’s biggest companies. | But it is Facebook, he added, that sets the rhythm of his campaigning day around the state that shares a nine-mile border with Texas, and is home to some of Mexico’s biggest companies. |
| Whipping out an iPad with a cracked screen, he scrolled down the comments below a Facebook invitation to the rally he was about to attend. | Whipping out an iPad with a cracked screen, he scrolled down the comments below a Facebook invitation to the rally he was about to attend. |
| “The comments tell you what people feel, which is more important than what they think,” he said. A few moments later he found one about drainage in the area of the rally, which he duly included into his stump speech to general approval. | “The comments tell you what people feel, which is more important than what they think,” he said. A few moments later he found one about drainage in the area of the rally, which he duly included into his stump speech to general approval. |
| “He blew open the normal model of political communication on social media,” said Juan Manuel Ramos of Quinto Poder, a platform set up in 2012 to monitor the political use of the web. | “He blew open the normal model of political communication on social media,” said Juan Manuel Ramos of Quinto Poder, a platform set up in 2012 to monitor the political use of the web. |
| While most Mexican politicians’ use of social media consists of anodyne tweets and Facebook posts which read like something from a motivational handbook, Rodríguez uses colloquial language to respond to his constituents, said Ramos. | While most Mexican politicians’ use of social media consists of anodyne tweets and Facebook posts which read like something from a motivational handbook, Rodríguez uses colloquial language to respond to his constituents, said Ramos. |
| This, Ramos added, has given El Bronco a “near-religious” political fanbase with a mission to get him elected. With El Bronco becoming a genuine contender, the business elite has also begun to jump on the bandwagon, along with the young and progressive who might otherwise be put off by his macho image. | This, Ramos added, has given El Bronco a “near-religious” political fanbase with a mission to get him elected. With El Bronco becoming a genuine contender, the business elite has also begun to jump on the bandwagon, along with the young and progressive who might otherwise be put off by his macho image. |
| El Bronco’s rise in Nuevo León inevitably brings comparisons with Vicente Fox, another northern politician who changed the country’s political history by wresting the presidency from the Pri in 2000. | El Bronco’s rise in Nuevo León inevitably brings comparisons with Vicente Fox, another northern politician who changed the country’s political history by wresting the presidency from the Pri in 2000. |
| Fox launched his presidential bid after winning the governorship of his state of Guanajuato in 1995. Like Bronco, Fox wore a cowboy hat and peppered his speeches with swearwords. He was also an innovative campaigner, producing unusually bold and direct TV spots. And like Bronco, Fox’s mould-breaking popularity eventually drew in parts of the business elite and the leftwing intelligentsia. | Fox launched his presidential bid after winning the governorship of his state of Guanajuato in 1995. Like Bronco, Fox wore a cowboy hat and peppered his speeches with swearwords. He was also an innovative campaigner, producing unusually bold and direct TV spots. And like Bronco, Fox’s mould-breaking popularity eventually drew in parts of the business elite and the leftwing intelligentsia. |
| But as the years ticked by critics charged that the advent of political pluralism did little to limit the abuse and corruption of those in power. One-party hegemony had fallen, the argument went, only to be replaced with a kind of political cartel. | But as the years ticked by critics charged that the advent of political pluralism did little to limit the abuse and corruption of those in power. One-party hegemony had fallen, the argument went, only to be replaced with a kind of political cartel. |
| The Pri returned to federal government in 2012, when Enrique Peña Nieto was elected president – a victory which for many cemented a sense of disillusionment with Mexico’s first attempt at democratisation. One recent poll found that just 9% of Mexican voters trusted the country’s national parties. | The Pri returned to federal government in 2012, when Enrique Peña Nieto was elected president – a victory which for many cemented a sense of disillusionment with Mexico’s first attempt at democratisation. One recent poll found that just 9% of Mexican voters trusted the country’s national parties. |
| “Our system at the federal level and at the local level, really needs to be shaken up,” said Mauricio Sada, a businessman and former head of the Pan in the Nuevo León congress who now supports El Bronco. “He has a natural persona that fits the circumstances. There are a lot of elements that are lacking, or at least not proven, in terms of his actual capacity, but you just have to trust him.” | “Our system at the federal level and at the local level, really needs to be shaken up,” said Mauricio Sada, a businessman and former head of the Pan in the Nuevo León congress who now supports El Bronco. “He has a natural persona that fits the circumstances. There are a lot of elements that are lacking, or at least not proven, in terms of his actual capacity, but you just have to trust him.” |
| With the tension mounting ahead of Sunday’s election, El Bronco said he deals with the stress with the help of yoga-style breathing exercises every morning, adding yet another contradictory element into his singular mix of old and new. | With the tension mounting ahead of Sunday’s election, El Bronco said he deals with the stress with the help of yoga-style breathing exercises every morning, adding yet another contradictory element into his singular mix of old and new. |
| But, the candidate mused, what really keeps him focused and calm is a sense of himself as usefully unhinged. | But, the candidate mused, what really keeps him focused and calm is a sense of himself as usefully unhinged. |
| “Never doubt that it is those who are a little crazy who manage to change the world,” the candidate said, after waving to another motorist giving him the thumbs up. | “Never doubt that it is those who are a little crazy who manage to change the world,” the candidate said, after waving to another motorist giving him the thumbs up. |
| “Those who reason everything, those who plan everything, and those who stay in their comfort zone – they never change anything.” | “Those who reason everything, those who plan everything, and those who stay in their comfort zone – they never change anything.” |