Gabriel Quadri rose from virtual political anonymity when he declared his candidacy for president with the Nueva Alianza (PANAL) political party on February 16, 2012. PANAL was founded in 2005 with the support of the National Teacher’s Union (SNTE), Latin America’s largest public union, and its longtime leader Elba Esther Gordillo.
He presents himself as the “candidate of the teachers” and of the free citizens in Mexico calling for a “peaceful revolution” whose base would be the National Teachers’ Union of Mexico. Quadri’s relationship to Gordillo is controversial given the SNTE’s clout on issues related to educational reform. Nevertheless, the PANAL candidate openly declared himself to be a big fan of Gordillo, arguing that the Teachers’ Union is one of the key pillars of PANAL and that teachers should be at the forefront of Mexico’s needed educational reform.
Quadri’s political career began as an advisor to the National Institute of Ecology during the administration of President Ernesto Zedillo. He was also head of the External Financing sector in the Bank of Mexico and founder of SIGEA, a non-governmental environmentalist organization. Quadri seeks to represent Mexican citizens who are dissatisfied current Mexican politics and its distinctive partisanship. The polls, however, do not favor Quadri as he currently registers a voter preference of merely 1 percent.
For background:
–Video profile of Gabriel Quadri and the other three presidential candidates
-Profile of Gabriel Quadri and the other three presidential candidates
–Slideshow with profiles of Gabriel Quadri and of the other three candidates for the Mexican presidency (The Economist)
-Profile page for Gabriel Quadri
-Profile of Gabriel Quadri
-See a profile on CNN’s Mexico: Voto 2012 website.
-View videos from his campaign on YouTube
-Visit the official website for Nueva Alianza
The Mexico Institute's Elections Guide 