Political Groups Within the PAN
There are two streams within the center-right Partido Acci�n Nacional (PAN, National Action Party)

The Te�ricos.
Or "Theorists" are those who want to keep untouched the principles that the former President of the Mexican National Authonomous University, Manuel G�mez, and a group of moralist businessmen had in mind when they founded it: Namely, to act with absolute honesty and integrity without dirty secret deals with the Government and its PRI, to favour private investment, to fight corruption.
Unfortunately, this stream has lost power since the "Accident" in which the former President and former candidate of the PAN to the Presidency, Manuel "Maqu�o" Clouthier got murdered few weeks after Carlos Salinas took office as President. It lost even more power when Senator Angelo Concello died exactly the same way in 1998 when he was leading the opposition against the FOBAPROA, and illegal billionary fund created by President Zedillo, Minister Gurr�a and Governor (Cent. Bank) Ortiz to protect the interests of bankers linked to the PRI, to cover the robbery corrupt bankers who financed the PRI made, and to save the banks themselves at the cost of putting an unbearable budget burden over the heads of several generations of Mexicans.
Another member of this group is Luis H. �lvarez, who suffered imprisonment during the brutal D�az Ordaz regime (1964-1970) because of his oppositionist political activities. Assuredly, he hasn't gotten killed because he's not much powerful and because he's lucky.
Along with the murdering of its main members, the Te�ricos lost control of the PAN because they gave no results to its members: Before the Pr�cticos led by Diego Fern�ndez started secret negotiations with the Carlos Salinas regime (1988-1994), their only important victory was the Baja California State Government, won few weeks after Salinas took office thanks to an immense effort from the PAN that prevented the typical electoral fraud the PRI used to commit.

The Pr�cticos.
Led by Diego Fern�ndez, a skilled orator, lawyer and negotiator close to former President Carlos Salinas, this group became the mainstream within the PAN after the murder of "Maqu�o" Clouthier. Its distinctive characteristic is pragmatism: Its members are prone to sacrify almost everything for the sake of the PRI and its President in return for political favours. This group won for the PAN hundreds of City Halls and seats in the Congress as well as the State Governments of Guanajuato and Chihuahua in 1991, Baja California and Quer�taro in 1995, Nuevo Le�n in 1997 and has been co-responsible for the passing of harmful laws like that which legalised the hated FOBAPROA in December 1998. The Pr�cticos, or pragmatists have won popularity inside and outside the PAN because their underground negotiations methods seem to be effective and give results -like better public services and better police departments- to those areas of the contry which it governs. The main figures within this group are: Diego Fern�ndez, Antonio Lozano (appointed Attorney General by Zedillo in 1994 and fired two years later because of a fake criminal evidence scandal), Carlos Medina (Governor of Guanajuato 1991-97 and co-ordinator of the PAN in the Congress 1997-2000, responsible for the passing of the FOBAPROA), and Francisco Paoli, Chairman of the Congress 1999-2000, who vanished during a crucial ballot giving the triumph to the PRI and saving it U.S.$5 million for its presidential campaign. Effectively, the PRI won that battle by one ballot only.

The Vicente Fox Group
A natural leader, former President of Coca-Cola Latin America, Vicente Fox is supported by a nationwide organization named "Amigos de Fox" (Friends of Fox) and assuredly he has support from very rich people, given the TV propaganda he has paid. But he's envied by many leaders in his own party. His only political sponsor is Luis Bravo, current President of the PAN.
More than by political celebrities, Vicente Fox is supported by the bases (masses) within the PAN. The Pr�cticos claim to be supporting him, but they make no active campaign for him and it is almost sure they will betrade and do something horrible to him whenever they have a chance.

Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox

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Political Groups Within the PAN

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