Former President Felipe Calderón, a member of the National Action Party (PAN), has joined a group of members of his party in criticizing the PAN’s current leader Ricardo Anaya.
Calderón, who also served as president of the PAN between 1996 and 1999, tweeted an image of a letter, written by PAN member Alberto Cárdenas, that criticizes Anaya.
La UNIDAD del PAN es vital para el país, la dirigencia de @ricardoanayac está poniendo en riesgo esa Unidad: @beto_cardenasj https://t.co/MJe7GiJ5OH
— Felipe Calderón (@FelipeCalderon) October 24, 2016
“The UNITY of the PAN is vital for the country, and Ricardo Anaya’s leadership is putting that unity at risk.”
The letter, released on Sunday, was addressed to the PAN’s National Executive Committee (CEN) and signed by 18 members of the party, including former Senator Roberto Gil Zuarth, former National Security Secretary Juan Miguel Alcantara, Senator Ernesto Cordero and Deputy Gustavo Madero. The letter criticizes Anaya’s leadership and argues that if Anaya is working to become the party’s presidential candidate in 2016, he should publicly announce his ambitions. The letter also accuses Anaya of using “the structure and resources of the party” to advance a personal agenda “through questionable methods creating a serious conflict of interest.”
The CEN replied with a press release saying that the party’s leadership is focused on statuary responsibilities and making a call for unity.
“It would be a historic error to allow ourselves to be divided in this moment, when the PAN is seen as the major alternative to a government that is hated by Mexicans,” said the press release.
Anaya is one of two probable candidates for the PAN in the 2018 presidential elections, the other being Calderón’s wife Margarita Zavala.
