Mexico election: Indigenous woman from rebel group to run for presidency

The rebels said in a statement they will begin consultations to select the candidate

Maria de Jesus Patricio Martinez holds a document after registering to run in Mexico's presidential election (Reuters)

An indigenous woman backed by Mexico’s rebel Zapatista movement registered over the weekend to run as an independent candidate in next year’s presidential election, adding to a growing list of hopefuls bucking established political parties.

Maria de Jesus Patricio Martinez is the spokeswoman for the National Indigenous Congress, the political arm of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), and in May was picked to be the group’s 2018 presidential candidate.

Local media reported that after Patricio Martinez registered with the National Electoral Institute (INE), she pledged not to accept any funding from the government to run her campaign.

Mexico’s major political parties have struggled to gain support in recent years, and voter surveys show all presidential hopefuls struggling to win support from as much as a third of the electorate.

The front-runner in most polls is former Mexico City mayor and two-time presidential runner-up Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist with nationalistic leanings.

The ruling centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) of President Enrique Pena Nieto, who is barred by law from seeking a second term, has yet to pick a candidate.

Already, more than 10 first-time independent candidates have registered to run. Three of those contenders failed to meet initial requirements, according to the INE.

Also on Saturday, maverick Nuevo Leon Governor Jaime Rodriguez, a former PRI member, expressed his interest to register his own independent run for the presidency.

Last week, Armando Rios Piter, an independent former member of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), formally registered his candidacy, further crowding the pool of anti-establishment candidates.

Patricio Martinez, a traditional healer and native Nahua speaker, is originally from the central Mexican state of Jalisco.

Her support from the Zapatistas marks a more visible turn for the insurgent movement, which has faded in recent years.

Just after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into force in 1994, the EZLN led armed indigenous insurgents in a “declaration of war” against the government in southern Chiapas state.

A 12-day battle with the Army claimed at least 140 lives and become an early symbol for supporters of the anti-globalization movement.

​Reuters