Castaneda Presidency Bid Denied in Mexico

Mexico’s Supreme Court on Monday ruled against an appeal by former Foreign Secretary Jorge Castaneda, who had sought permission to run in next year’s presidential race without the endorsement of a registered political party.

The court ruled 6 to 4 that individual citizens could not file such constitutional appeals against Mexican election laws, which allow only candidates nominated by a registered party. It left open the possibility that a government agency could file such an appeal.

The ruling in effect ended Castaneda’s quixotic bid to run as an independent; he is also reportedly courting Convergencia, one of three small registered parties, to gain its nomination.

Though the court must still rule on another, technical part of Castaneda’s appeal, Justice Sergio Valls said there was relatively little chance that Castaneda could make it to the ballot.

For about a year, Castaneda has run a low-budget barnstorming effort to gain independent status. Though he criticizes the party establishment, he is not exactly a political outsider.

Only two years ago, Castaneda was in President Vicente Fox’s Cabinet, where he shook up relations with Cuba and reached for a major migration accord with the United States. His father held the foreign secretary job long before him.