Morena, the hope of Mexico

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – On Friday, Feb. 13, a binational meeting took place between committees of the Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena), or Movement for National Regeneration, in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

This historic event marked one of the rare times that Mexican citizens from both sides of the border joined together to discuss issues facing the working people of Mexico.

Morena is the new left party of Mexico. The “Movimiento” has transformed itself into a political party, obtaining its electoral registration in June 2014. Excitement and support for this new party are evident by the fact that although it’s only eight months old, polls show that if a presidential election were to be held today it would win in many areas of Mexico including Mexico City.

Although this meeting was organized to bring together members from the northern part of Mexico, such as the Comité Municipal de Tijuana, and surrounding areas of Los Angeles, participation included, via U-Stream and Skype, Morena committees from Minnesota, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and cities in Canada.

Four main topics were covered throughout the day’s event:

1. Getting out the vote in the upcoming 2015 election, as well as establishing a mechanism to defend it. Attendees agreed that international observers are needed to oversee the entire process, from the moment the ballot boxes are picked up to the moment they are returned to the offices of the Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE).

 2. Development of political education with regard to the electoral process, including new forms to educate members of Morena. All agreed that learning how the system works in the electoral process in Mexico is vital to defending the vote.

 3. The voting rights of Mexicans living outside of Mexico and how to obtain their voter identification card. It was noted that Mexicans living outside of Mexico are now the number one source of revenue for the country, surpassing oil revenues, and they should therefore have the right to vote wherever they reside.

4. The defense of Mexican immigrants rights, a comprehensive immigration law, and the study of the new U.S. presidential executive orders DAPA and DACA. Participants from Mexico were informed of the new orders and discussion centered on encouraging as many immigrants as possible to sign up.

All agreed that the discussions, food, and the camaraderie were the highlights of this first binational meeting. Participants recognized the importance of working collectively to bring hope and justice to their beloved country of Mexico, and left by recommitting themselves to this struggle.

Photo: AP