The former PRI deputy Luis Enrique Benítez, with 40 years in the PRI and a history of disqualifications against the 4T, was received with great fanfare by the Morena leadership.
The welcome was made official by Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, son of former president López Obrador, in a gesture that even made some members of Morena uncomfortable. In his role as the movement's organization secretary, "Andy" didn't hesitate to accept the former PRI member and pose next to him for the official photo.
Controversial statements
Benítez is not a recent convert. In 2023 he called Claudia Sheinbaum "stupid" for supporting the purchase of Iberdrola plants. Additionally, he publicly railed against López Obrador on multiple occasions. However, with a simple change of jersey, everything seems to have been forgiven.
The former state leader of the tricolor in Durango claimed to feel encouraged to join Morena, in an act of evident political amnesia. Benítez committed to supporting the campaign work in his federal entity.
"My commitment, my conviction, my enthusiasm to participate in this great project and for the transformation to reach Durango (...) Belonging to Morena will be a great honor," commented Benítez.
Not everything is rosy
But not everyone in Morena shares the enthusiasm. Senator Margarita Valdez raised her voice, reminding that Benítez, in addition to his insults, was involved in the violent eviction of students in 2010 at the Juárez University of Durango. She demanded that the Commission of Honesty and Justice review his incorporation.
Ironically, while Morena accuses the opposition of corruption, betrayal, and elitism, its roster of new members is filled with recycled names from the old PRI and PAN. Regeneration or political recycling?
With cases like this, a sad reality is consolidated: Morena is not destroying the PRIAN, it is absorbing it. With each incorporation like that of Benítez, the "transformation" increasingly resembles the past they promised to bury.
Check out more on similar cases at Derecha Diario México and also see our article on the new recycled Morenistas.
