Renowned Mexican novelist offers harsh assessment of all the candidates, but says Calderón "did his job as he saw it"

Speaking yesterday at the Cervantes Institute in New York, prominent Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes said that he'll be sitting out the 2012 presidential election. His personal choice candidate, Marcelo Ebrard, the PRD governor of Mexico's Federal District, announced last week that he was withdrawing in favor of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. In the absence of any other PRD primary contender, López Obrador, who came within a half percent of winning the presidency in July 2006, automatically captured the nomination (http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/11/andres-lopez-obrador-is-prds-2012.html).

But Fuentes said that he won't vote for López Obrador, nor for PRI candidate Enrique Peña Nieto, who would not be the right person to lead Mexico "down a peaceful and creative path," according to the author. "I'm gong to abstain, unless PAN delivers a sensational candidate, and I don't know who that would be," said Fuentes. He has apparently ruled out all three of the announced PAN primary contenders.

Fuentes had a mixed appraisal of president Felipe Calderón. He told a press conference that criminals are responsible for the violence in Mexico, not the military strategy employed by Calderón to fight them. "The president has discharged his duties as he saw them," said Fuentes, but he added that he believes the strategy has failed. The author also said that the war against drug trafficking is a responsibility which must be equally shouldered by the United States and Mexico. In a clear reference to the U.S.government's secret arms sales to Mexican drug cartels, and the continuing high level of demand for drugs north of the border, Fuentes said that the U.S. "cannot officially have a public policy against drugs, while actually empowering and encouraging traffickers" through its conduct.

The 83 year old author, who worked as a diplomat for many years and once served as Mexico's ambassador to France, was in New York to promote his latest work, La Gran Novela Latinoamericana (The Great Latin American Novel).