### Leadership Change in PAN, Baja California, Seen as ‘Controlled by Marko Cortés’ Group’: Ernesto Ruffo
While the National Action Party (PAN) has determined that the next state leadership in Baja California will be held by a woman—an unprecedented event—former Governor Ernesto Ruffo Appel claims that the internal election process is merely “controlled by the group of Marko Cortés,” the current head of PAN.
“There is a severe internal problem where the democratic mechanisms within PAN no longer function. The race for PAN’s leadership in Baja California is the same as what is happening in Mexico City. It is a process controlled by Marko Cortés’s group, and what we seek is to open PAN to civic citizen participation,” Ruffo Appel said.
He advocated for PAN members to find a mechanism that allows citizen participation in the selection of both candidates and leadership positions.
To select who will replace Mario Osuna Jiménez as the head of the PAN State Steering Committee, the party’s Council in Baja California approved a request to hold the state leadership vote on the same date as the national leadership election, which will occur on November 10.
Former federal deputy Lizbeth Mata Lozano, re-elected councilor Sandra Magaña Ríos, and former local legislator Amintha Briceño Cinco are eyeing the presidency of the State Steering Committee. Municipal leader Christopher Domínguez Meraz indicated that Ruth Hernández Martínez, who served in the Chamber of Deputies during the LIX Legislature, also has aspirations.
“The reason we joined PAN as individuals is the civic citizen organization, and that is an outward action of PAN. But today, what happens is that PAN, in its current formal state, is closed off to those inside and doesn’t open up to citizen presence at all,” Ruffo Appel stated on September 17.
Former Governor José Guadalupe Osuna Millán compared the PAN’s membership register to “a closed oyster,” remarking that the same members remain and don’t open up. He warned that unless the party embraces inclusivity, it will continue to see unfavorable electoral results.
“I see an effort here in Baja California in the past elections, where some citizens participated, but PAN lost its identity and trust,” he noted. “Given this loss of citizen trust, if they continue doing the same things, we will have the same results. PAN will end up in ostracism,” he concluded.
Former Secretary of Government Fortunato Álvarez, during Ruffo Appel’s administration, stated that the only way to change the current dictatorial regime is to invite citizen participation in a political option different from the one represented by the official line with Andrés Manuel López Obrador as President and Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo as President-elect.
He called upon PAN members and state leaders to radically change their organization and spirit of service with honest leaders committed to social causes and the common good. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for the awakened and awakening citizenry to participate within PAN.
The three PAN members held a press conference in Tijuana’s Zona Río, where former Governor Alejandro González Alcocer read a statement.
“With the power in the hands of what once was the opposition, other problems came. People who didn’t care about the struggle for democracy or the party’s history entered public positions solely to secure posts and make deals,” he admitted in a joint statement, referring to periods when PAN was the ruling force.
He emphasized that PAN has fallen into the hands of personal or group interests, mainly with the last two leaders (Damián Zepeda/Marcelo Torres and Marko Cortés), prioritizing their personal interests and those of their loyalists by allocating candidacies and privileges.
He proposed fighting party elites and those who manipulate the membership register to their advantage.
He also pointed out that with the current government (from Morena), democracy, institutions, and the separation of powers are sinking because of a desire to concentrate power in one person.
The three former governors and the ex-leader reaffirmed their allegiance to PAN and urged “citizens of good faith to block the path to dictatorship and resist the assaults of authoritarianism” by uniting within the opposition.
### Secondary Article: Unrest in PAN Extends Beyond Baja California
In other developments connected to internal conflicts within PAN, reports indicate discontent in various regions in Mexico where members believe internal democracy is at risk. Criticism of Marko Cortés’s leadership has also surfaced in states such as Guanajuato, where members argue that the centralized control undermines grassroots initiatives.
A recent editorial highlights the party’s loss of electoral relevance and the need for substantial reforms. The editorial calls for embracing broader citizen involvement, transparent processes, and restoring the party’s core values of democracy and civic duty.
The editorial mentions PAN’s poor performance in recent elections as evidence that the current approach, marked by internal politicking and favoritism, needs a complete overhaul. PAN’s future, according to analysts, hinges on whether it can revitalize its structure and regain the trust of the Mexican electorate.
Stay tuned to TJGringo.com for ongoing updates on this developing story.