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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 000466 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2016 
TAGS: MX PGOV
SUBJECT: CALDERON'S CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF 
 
Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Leslie A. Bassett, Reasons: 
 1.4 (B/D) 
 
¶1. (U) Summary.  National Action Party (PAN) presidential 
candidate Felipe Calderon kicked off his campaign on January 
19 in the State of Mexico, where he focused his message on 
rule of law, values, and economic growth.  Calderon will 
launch a weekly one-hour radio program over the weekend and 
an internet-radio program next week.   PRD candidate Andres 
Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) still leads the three major 
candidates in the polls, but Calderon's numbers are still 
consistently climbing.  Several positions within Calderon's 
campaign remain unfilled.  End Summary. 
 
Campaign Kick-off 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Calderon kicked off his campaign on January 19 in 
front of 14,000 supporters at the Toreo de Cuatro Caminos 
stadium in the State of Mexico where he debuted his new 
campaign slogan "Valor y pasion por Mexico" (Courage and 
passion for Mexico).  While the PAN is the only one of the 
three major parties that did not form an alliance with one of 
the smaller parties, Calderon asked all Mexicans to join him 
in a "winning alliance" that will work to find a solution to 
Mexico's problems.  Throughout the first week of his 
campaign, from meetings with business leaders to taxi 
drivers, Calderon's message focused on rule of law, values, 
and economic growth. 
 
¶3. (C) On January 28 Calderon will launch a weekly one-hour 
radio program that will air at the same time as President 
Fox's radio show "Fox Contigo".  Calderon hired the same 
producers who set up Fox's program in 2000.  The producers, 
who no longer work on Fox's program, are PAN supporters and 
will be paid only production costs.  On February 1 the same 
producers will launch an internet-radio program that will run 
live campaign events, campaign and party propaganda, and 
cultural information 24 hours a day.  PAN officials told 
Poloff that they plan to use the internet to reach an 
important demographic - young, first-time voters who, due to 
their age, do not connect with Calderon's message that a vote 
for the PRI or the PRD is a vote for the old, corrupt ways of 
Mexico. 
 
¶4. (C) In a series of polls taken between January 12 and 
January 16, and released on January 19, PRD candidate Andres 
Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) still leads the three major 
candidates but his numbers have decreased over the last few 
months.  Calderon is still consistently climbing in the 
polls, but trails AMLO by anywhere from 6 to 12 points, 
depending on the poll.  PAN officials point out that both 
AMLO and PRI candidate Roberto Madrazo are well-known 
political figures and that, given their public roles over the 
past three years, most Mexicans have already formed opinions 
about them.  Since Calderon is a relative newcomer, the PAN 
believes as the percentage of Mexicans who know who he is 
grows, so will the percentage of Mexicans who support him in 
the polls.  PAN officials also stressed that a large 
percentage of AMLO's support comes from swing voters, instead 
of from party loyalists, which means Calderon, with the right 
campaigning strategies, could steal their votes. 
 
Campaign Organization 
--------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) While Calderon's campaign went through a 
reorganization period during the month-long "tregua" which 
ended on January 18, most notably adding former Secretary of 
Social Development Josefina Vasquez Mota as campaign policy 
coordinator, several positions within the campaign still 
remain unfilled.  PAN members told Embassy officials weeks 
ago that Senator and PAN Secretary of International Relations 
Cecilia Romero will be named Calderon's Foreign Policy 
Advisor, but Calderon is stalling on making the appointment 
official.  Senator Romero told Poloff on January 23 that 
Calderon is uncertain if he wants to name a party official to 
the position or someone linked more closely to the campaign. 
 
¶6. (C) PAN officials state that the 9-person classified 
committee that was established to direct campaign strategy 
and provide better coordination between party officials and 
Calderon's campaign officials was dissolved.  Campaign 
strategy is now decided by the PAN's strategic committee, 
which meets every Monday morning, and appears to be made up 
of some of the same players as the 9-person classified 
committee including PAN Secretary of Elections Arturo Garcia 
Portillo and Josefina Vasquez Mota.  In an attempt to better 
coordinate efforts between Calderon's campaign and the party, 
the PAN gave two high-level party positions to Calderon 
advisors.  Calderon supporter Cesar Nava was named Assistant 
Secretary General and spokesperson of the PAN, while Deputy 
 
SIPDIS 
German Martinez Cazeres was named PAN representative to the 
 
MEXICO 00000466  002 OF 002 
 
 
Federal Electoral Institute (IFE). 
 
¶7. (C) On January 25, WHA/MEX Deputy Director Richard Sanders 
asked PAN officials about the role of disaffected PRI-member 
and teacher's union leader Ester Elba Gordillo in Calderon's 
campaign.  PAN Director of International Relations Rolando 
Garcia stated the Gordillo will not have a public role in the 
campaign, as PAN officials determined her image could do more 
harm than good.  Garcia emphasized that Gordillo's support 
for Roberto Campa, Nueva Alianzas's presidential candidate, 
positively affects the PAN as she is helping to shift votes 
from the PRI, a major player in the election, to Nueva 
Alianza, a small party with no chance of winning the 
presidency. 
 
¶8. (C) Comment:  Despite a clear, consistent message at all 
of his campaign events thus far, Calderon's campaign got off 
to a rough start as he could not fill all the venues at which 
he spoke and he canceled two days of events when he lost his 
voice.  It is also surprising that the month-long "tregua" 
was not enough time to appoint all of his advisors and 
organize his team, although it is possible the delays are due 
to infighting between party and campaign officials. 
 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity 
 
GARZA