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Citizens' Movement (Mexico)

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Citizens' Movement (Spanish: Movimiento Ciudadano) is a center-left political party in Mexico. It was founded in 1999 under the name Convergence for Democracy, which was then shortened to Convergence in 2002 and changed to Citizens' Movement in 2011.[10]

Citizens' Movement
Movimiento Ciudadano
LeaderJorge Álvarez Máynez
Senate LeaderClemente Castañeda Hoeflich
Chamber LeaderIvonne Ortega Pacheco
FounderDante Delgado Rannauro
Founded1 August 1999 (as CpD)
16 August 2002 (as CON)
31 July 2011 (as MC)
Split fromPRI
HeadquartersLouisiana 113 Nápoles, Benito Juárez, 03810 Mexico City
NewspaperEl Ciudadano
Youth wingYouth in Movement
Membership (2023)Increase 384,005[1]
IdeologySocial democracy[2][3]
Progressivism[4]
Participatory democracy[5]
Social liberalism[5]
Political positionCentre[6][7] to centre-left[8]
National affiliationAlliance for Mexico (1999–2001)
Coalition for the Good of All (2005–2006)
Progressive Movement (2011–2012)
Por México al Frente (2017–2018)
International affiliationProgressive Alliance[9]
Continental affiliationCOPPPAL
Colours  Orange and White
Chamber of Deputies 
27 / 500
Senate
5 / 128
Governorships
2 / 32
State legislatures
37 / 1,124
Website
Party website

Established on 1 August 1999, Convergence for Democracy was founded by civil society activists and former Institutional Revolutionary Party members, advocating for a social market economy and democratic reforms to increase citizen participation in governance. Once the drug war started, the party included demilitarization efforts and drug regulation in its platform. Initially aligning with left-wing coalitions since its inception, disagreements with left-wing parties prompted the party's shift to independence in elections from 2012 onwards. However, it briefly joined an alliance during the 2018 election. Since then, it has heavily focused on sustainability and social issues in its party platform.

It is the third political force in the country, receiving 10.32% of the votes cast in the 2024 presidential election, and has yet to secure victory in a presidential race. As of 2023, it has 384,005 members, and its members are known as emecistas.

History

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Convergence for Democracy (1997–2002)

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Convergence for Democracy originally gained national political grouping status in 1997, before attaining its party status in 1999. Founded on the principles of a social market economy, the party asserted it as the most effective framework for economic organization. Additionally, it advocated for additional democratic reforms in Mexico, aiming to give the public greater control over the country, and to further enhance the country's democratization process that started in 1982.[11]

For the 2000 presidential election, Convergence for Democracy joined other left-wing parties in the Alliance for Mexico (Alianza por México). They nominated Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas as the presidential candidate and endorsed various candidates for state positions, namely Andrés Manuel López Obrador for the Head of the Federal District. Despite Cárdenas' third-place finish, López Obrador emerged victorious in his election.

In the local elections of 2001 and 2002, the party made gains in different states, securing victories for the positions of municipal presidents in the capitals of Veracruz and Oaxaca.

In August 2002, during the party's second National Assembly, members collectively opted to streamline the party's name to Convergence.

Convergence (2002–2011)

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Convergence logo

Convergence contested the 2003 mid-term congressional election as an independent party, and garnered 2.3% of the popular vote and five seats in the Chamber of Deputies. By 2006, the party had one coalition governor, one senator, 5 federal deputies, 25 state deputies, and 29 municipal presidents.

In the 2006 general election, Convergence established another left-wing electoral alliance, the Coalition for the Good of All, with the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the Labor Party (PT). The alliance rallied behind Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who faced a narrow defeat to Felipe Calderón, with a slim margin of approximately 0.56% in the national vote, prompting the alliance to assert allegations of electoral fraud. Following the Federal Electoral Tribunal's rejection of requests for a recount, the alliance's constituent parties coalesced to form a legislative coalition known as the Broad Progressive Front.

The tenure of Felipe Calderón significantly reshaped the political landscape, marked by the initiation of the Mexican drug war and the 2007–2008 financial crisis in Mexico. By the 2009 legislative elections, Convergence and the Labor Party forged an electoral alliance known as Salvemos a México and formed a party platform opposing policies implemented during Calderón's administration. Convergence adopted a more assertive stance toward the implementation of a social market economy, as the party claimed that the financial crisis was caused by a lack of regulatory oversight by the state. The party also called for an end to the drug war, deeming it a failed endeavor that tarnished the military's public image and contributed to the erosion of human rights in the country. The alliance proposed the demilitarization of the country and called for democratic reforms in order to establish a true democratic state, free from discrimination, as a means to reduce crime. Furthermore, Convergence called for the creation of a fourth branch of government, managed by citizens, with the authority to audit and sanction members of the other three branches in cases of non-compliance with their obligations.[12]

In 2010, one of the party's own candidates, Gabino Cué Monteagudo, won the governorship of Oaxaca through a coalition with other parties.

In 2011, during the party's second Special National Assembly, members voted to reform the party's structure, including its name and logo, rebranding the party to Citizens' Movement.[13]

Citizens' Movement (2011–present)

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In 2012, Citizens' Movement became part of the left-wing Progressive Movement electoral alliance, nominating Andrés Manual López Obrador for a second presidential candidacy. The party continued its aggressive stance on the state of Mexico's economic system, attributing the widespread poverty to the neoliberal policies implemented in Mexico since the mid-1980s, which López Obrador campaigned on changing. However, López Obrador lost to Enrique Peña Nieto by a margin of over 5%.

Following the election, López Obrador parted ways with the PRD and Citizens' Movement and chose to establish his own political party, Morena.[14] In late 2012, the PRD entered into the Pact for Mexico agreement with the Institutional Revolutionary Party and National Action Party. Considering this a betrayal, Dante Delgado Rannauro, the party leader of Citizens' Movement, severed ties with the PRD. The party also clarified that it would not enter into an alliance with Morena due to ideology disagreements, which led the party to participate in elections independently from 2013 to 2017.

In the leadup to the 2018 general election, Dante Delgado expressed willingness to participate in an electoral alliance. Despite the Labor Party, their long-time ally, forming an alliance with López Obrador's Morena, Citizens' Movement maintained its stance of refraining from aligning with Morena. Instead, Citizens' Movement forged a big-tent electoral alliance with the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the National Action Party (PAN). Delgado and Raúl Flores, the head of the PRD, stated that the alliance's goal was to prove that the country's interests went before party politics, with Delgado stating that the alliance legally bound the parties to serve the citizens they represented.[15][16][17] As part of its digital electoral strategy, Citizens' Movement utilized the viral music video "Movimiento Naranja – Yuawi," amassing over 54 million views on YouTube by the time of the election.[18][19] The alliance's nominee, Ricardo Anaya, lost to Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who secured a landslide victory. However, in Jalisco, the party achieved its first solo governorship victory, electing Enrique Alfaro Ramírez.

 
Jorge Álvarez Máynez, the party's first own presidential candidate

Since the 2018 elections, the party has remained independent in elections, abstaining from forming any alliances and even nominating their own presidential candidate, Jorge Máynez, in the 2024 presidential election.[20][21] The party's agenda also underwent a shift in priorities. The party placed a heavy focus on the environment, sustainable mobility, and a green economy, proposing constitutuional amendments that would assign the government the responsibility of mitigating climate change. Additionally, the party platform focused more on social issues, particularly the eradication of violence, exclusion, and discrimination against women.[22] The party has also continued its opposition to the drug war, claiming that continued militarization efforts had not decreased violence, instead advocating for reforming 2006 drug policies and the implementation of regulations on drug usage as measures to mitigate violence.[23]

Ideology

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The party describes itself as a center-left social democratic,[22][24] with the party positioning itself to the right of Morena.

The current party platform aims to advocate for a social market economy, gender equality, sexual freedom, sustainable mobility, the use of sustainable energy, a green economy, a new fiscal pact, demilitarization, federalism and primary elections in political parties.

Party leaders

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List of Citizens' Movement party leaders since 2011
Officeholder Term
Start End
Luis Walton Aburto 1 August 2011 8 September 2012
Dante Delgado Rannauro 8 September 2012 2 December 2018
Clemente Castañeda Hoeflich 2 December 2018 5 December 2021
Dante Delgado Rannauro 5 December 2021 5 December 2024
Jorge Máynez 5 December 2024 Incumbent

Election results

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Presidential elections

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Election year Candidate Votes % Result Note
2000 Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas 6,256,780 16.64  N Defeated Support PRD candidate; alliance: Alliance for Mexico
2006 Andrés Manuel López Obrador 14,756,350 35.31  N Defeated Support PRD candidate; alliance: Coalition for the Good of All
2012 Andrés Manuel López Obrador 15,848,827 31.61  N Defeated Support PRD candidate; alliance: Progressive Movement
2018 Ricardo Anaya 12,610,120 22.27  N Defeated Support PAN candidate; alliance: Por México al Frente
2024 Jorge Máynez 6,204,710 10.32  N Defeated

Congressional elections

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Chamber of Deputies

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Election year Seats [Note 1] Electoral alliance Presidency Position
Constituency Party-list Total
Seats Votes % Seats Votes %
2000 0 2
2 / 500
 Alliance for Mexico Vicente Fox   Minority
2003 0 605,156 2.34 5 602,392 2.34
5 / 500
 None Vicente Fox   Opposition
2006 5 12
17 / 500
 Coalition for the Good of All Felipe Calderón   Opposition
2009 0 822,001 2.51 6 854,347 2.60
6 / 500
 Salvemos a México Felipe Calderón   Opposition
2012 7 2,013,180 4.25 9 2,024,528 4.26
16 / 500
 Progressive Movement Enrique Peña Nieto   Opposition
2015 10 2,412,817 6.40 15 2,431,063 6.40
25 / 500
 None Enrique Peña Nieto   Opposition
2018 17 2,473,056 4.60 10 2,484,185 4.60
27 / 500
 Por México al Frente Andrés Manuel López Obrador   Opposition
2021 7 3,425,006 7.26 16 3,449,804 7.27
23 / 500
 None Andrés Manuel López Obrador   Opposition
2024 1 6,446,537 11.34 26 6,497,404 11.34
27 / 500
 None Claudia Sheinbaum   Opposition

Senate elections

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Election year Seats[Note 1] Electoral alliance Presidency Position
Constituency Party-list Total
Seats Votes % Seats Votes %
2000 0 1
1 / 128
 Alliance for Mexico Vicente Fox   Opposition
2006 3 2
5 / 128
 Coalition for the Good of All Felipe Calderón   Opposition
2012 0 2,013,180 4.25 1 2,024,528 4.26
1 / 128
 Progressive Movement Enrique Peña Nieto   Opposition
2018 2 2,621,317 4.87 5 2,654,085 4.89
7 / 128
 Por México al Frente Andrés Manuel López Obrador   Opposition
2024 2 6,460,220 11.32 3 6,528,238 11.33
5 / 128
 None Claudia Sheinbaum   Opposition

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b The seat distribution does not take into account party switches during the legislative term.

References

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  1. ^ "Padrón de afiliados".
  2. ^ https://movimientociudadano.mx/storage/magazines/pdfs/2974/nobis-numero-01-digital.pdf/ [bare URL]
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). movimientociudadano.mx. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ Steytler, Nico (27 October 2021). Comparative Federalism and Covid-19: Combating the Pandemic. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-47136-6.
  7. ^ Graham, Thomas (3 June 2024). "Mexico elects Claudia Sheinbaum as its first female president in landslide victory". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). Elections in Mexico: 2018 General Elections. International Foundation for Electoral Systems. 25 June 2018. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2019. While PAN has often been considered center-right, and PRD and MC center-left, the three have formed a big-tent coalition...
  9. ^ "Parties & Organisations - Progressive Alliance". Progressive-alliance.info. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Convergencia se transforma en Movimiento Ciudadano". animalpolitico.com. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Partido Convergencia". gobierno.com.mx. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  12. ^ https://portalanterior.ine.mx/archivos3/portal/historico/recursos/IFE-v2/DEPPP/DEPPP-PlataformasElectorales/2009/PTconverCOA2.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  13. ^ "Convergencia se convierte en Movimiento Ciudadano - El Universal - Nación". 27 January 2012. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  14. ^ C.V, DEMOS, Desarrollo de Medios, S. A. de (10 September 2012). "La Jornada: AMLO: sin ruptura, dejo el Movimiento Ciudadano". www.jornada.com.mx (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Movimiento Ciudadano anuncia Frente No Electoral | Movimiento Ciudadano". movimientociudadano.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  16. ^ Arista, Lidia (25 November 2017). "El Frente Ciudadano no es contra Morena: Raúl Flores". El Economista.
  17. ^ Expansión (5 September 2017). "El PAN, el PRD y Movimiento Ciudadano constituirán un frente común para 2018". Expansión (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Movimiento Naranja, el video que se ha convertido en un fenomeno viral". Hipertextual.com.[permanent dead link‍]
  19. ^ "Movimiento Naranja - Yuawi - Movimiento Ciudadano". YouTube. 18 December 2017. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Movimiento Ciudadano no va en alianza con ningún partido político en las elecciones federales; propone construir un nuevo trato para el país: la Evolución Mexicana | Movimiento Ciudadano". movimientociudadano.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Samuel García destapa a Jorge Álvarez Maynez como candidato presidencial de Movimiento Ciudadano". www.proceso.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  22. ^ a b https://repositoriodocumental.ine.mx/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/116686/CGor202101-27-ap-20-6-A1.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  23. ^ https://www.ine.mx/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MC-PlataformaElectoral-VInculos.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  24. ^ "Y a todo esto, ¿de quién es la canción Movimiento Naranja?" [And to all this, whose song is the Orange Movement?]. Nacion321.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 May 2018.
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