Jaime Rodríguez

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Jaime Heliodoro Rodríguez Calderón (1957–), also known as El Bronco, is a Mexican politician who served as the governor of Nuevo León from 2016 to 2021, and who also ran for president of Mexico in 2018 as an independent.[1] He has been widely described as a right-wing populist and a Mexican nationalist (basically a Mexican Trump). And like his American counterpart, he’s made various controversial and bigoted statements about minorities, women, indigenous people, immigrants, Americans, gays, and various other groups.[2]

He previously ran under the Institutional Revolutionary Party (an authoritarian party that controlled Mexico as a dictatorship from 1929 to 2000). After a fallout with other party members, he later dropped out of the party and disavowed them as dangerous and authoritarian (which he literally is as well).[3]

In an uncanny resemblance to Trump, he even ran as a candidate for president of Mexico in 2018, having a right leaning populist campaign. Initially, he requested leave as governor to run for president, wanting to kill two birds with one stone.[4] Fortunately, he didn’t win, but he’s still attempting to return to politics again as a governor. And there’s always the possibility that he may run for president again and actually win.[5]

Tenure as governor[edit]

During his time as governor, Rodriguez did very little to improve conditions in the state of Nuevo León, bringing more corruption by nepotism and giving money to cronies, including elevating his campaign with illegal funds.[6]

He also did a ton of photo shoots presenting himself as a typical Mexican macho man, like pictures of him riding horses (giving him his nickname, El Bronco). This mirrors weird photo shoots by other right wing politicians, like Putin when he rode horses.

General wingnuttery[edit]

Rodriguez has made several sexist statements on women, ranging from comparing his own wife to a horse (and women in general to horses) to denying abortion rights to Mexican women and promising to heavily punish women who get abortions.[7]

Rodriguez has also suggested cutting off the hands of thieves (including petty thieves who probably steal food out of desperation and hunger). Many critics of his barbaric comments inside and outside of Mexico remarked that this policy would do little to actually deter crime, and would just worsen the human rights crisis in Mexico.[8]

Mirroring US Republican candidates in 2016, Rodriguez and other candidates did not give any sensible position on LGBT rights, choosing to be “agnostic” and “neutral”. Presumably with this politics and religious views, he mostly likely supports “traditional marriage”.[9]

El Trumpo[edit]

Much like Trump, Rodriguez vowed to take a tough on crime approach (ironically, he himself would be charged as a criminal later in his campaign). Rodríguez shared several bizarre and gruesome solutions to Mexico’s crime problem (like the aforementioned hand cutting of petty thieves).[10] In an ironic twist, his family may have involved themselves in the world of crime, as one of his family members disappeared in a car chase in 2009 while fleeing. [11]

Rodriguez was charged with illicit financing charges to extend his presidential campaign in 2018, in which he finished dead last among the four candidates that ran.[12][13]

Much like his American counterpart, Calderon faces a longtime prison sentence for his crimes.[14]

See also[edit]

References[edit]