Drawing up a list: parties present candidates to IFE, reveal political intentions. (Politics).

In the final days of April, all political parties registered their candidates for this summer's elections with the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), the nation's electoral authority.

The Chamber of Deputies is made up of 500 members. Three hundred of them are directly elected by the people, while the rest receive their seats based on the proportion of votes their party receives. For every five districts in the nation a party wins, it receives one bonus seat in the lower congressional house.

Candidates are listed on ballots in the order in which their nomination was handed over to the IFE, so those from each party who are listed within the first 10 slots are practically assured a seat in the Chamber. For that reason, national party leaderships reserve those choice spots for their most loyal companions.

Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) President Roberto Madrazo approved a candidate list without putting party unity at risk, at least for the moment. Together with his second-in-charge, Elba Esther Gordillo, he gave the first nominations to the members of his party closest to him, including associates of disgraced former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. He excluded people close to 2000 PRI presidential candidate Francisco Labastida and former President Ernesto Zedillo. He also awarded few nominations to groups from the State of Mexico, currently controlled by Gov. Arturo Montiel.

Montiel and Gordillo (who said female candidates were set up to lose) initially expressed their problems with the Madrazo list (see following story, p. 22), but moves have been made on both sides of this apparent rift to minimize possible damage to the party.

In the next legislature, the PRI will be characterized by deputies with more experience and political capabilities. It's also important to note that Madrazo and Gordillo have showed significant willingness to negotiate and collaborate with the Fox administration.

The lists of the National Action Party (PAN) will be decorated not only by the old guard but also by newcomers with close ties to business. One of its most prominent figures, former Federal Comptroller Francisco Barrios, has been chosen to lead the PAN's Chamber delegation. He is seen inside and outside the party as a politician with strong potential to be the PAN's presidential candidate in 2006. The group that was left out of the nominations was the one led by Sen. Diego Fernandez de Cevallos. President Fox will have party members in the Chamber of Deputies with more government experience and greater political pragmatism.

The candidate list presented by the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) shows a significant change from its past, as party members representing radical positions were largely left out in the cold. The first names given to the IFE are of candidates who hold much more moderate positions, a break with the party's far-left roots. Among those who stand out are Rene Arce, Jose Agustin Ortiz Pinchetti, Manuel Camacho Solis and Pablo Gomez. The latter is expected to be the party's head in the upcoming legislature, which the party leadership hopes will consolidate its position within the Chamber and strengthen ties with PRD Senate leader Jesus Ortega.

The experience of other countries shows democratic transitions have been possible due to, among other factors, the fact that each one of the elite political groups has supported more moderate members and factions.

The main political parties' candidate lists are characterized by people who have moderate positions or are at least open to negotiation and dialogue.

This gives wide possibility that, in the coming months, the legislature and the executive will be able to discuss the reforms needed to consolidate the process of change. Maybe not all the reforms, and maybe not even the ones Fox wants, but certainly those necessary to put Mexico on a clearer path of development.