Tijuana, May 17. Mari Carmeeenn Flores —as her name will appear on the ballot—is a journalist who entered the political-electoral arena as a citizen candidate for the National Action Party (PAN) for mayor of Tijuana.
-The pros and cons of being outside the party structures and working with them?
-Look, it hasn't been that complicated to work with them. The pros are that the results of the survey—originally conducted by the PAN and PRI—show that citizens are tired and fed up with politicians. Not all of them, but certainly with those who have lied to them and deceived them. The other interpretation is that citizens want to participate and be taken into account. There's a great reception.
I see the cons on social media. People tell me, " Yes, for you, not for your party! " And then I have to make it clear to people that the PAN opened the door and it's the step I climbed, and that if the parties hadn't opened the door, we wouldn't be here...
-How do you envision participation? Is there a history of abstention?
-I see great spirit. There will be more voting for two reasons: it's the largest election in the country's history, and it's a presidential election, and people always participate more. There's a high level of disappointment and weariness with the current governments. In 2021, it was impossible to enter Morena-supporting areas. A survey by Ariosto Manrique in areas that were 100 percent Morena—the PRI and PAN were excluded—today 38 percent of those surveyed no longer said Morena .
