“El Bronco”: A presidential candidate victim of the violence in Mexico
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Get to know why Jaime Rodríguez was nicknamed "El Bronco", a term that speaks of his strong character
Jaime Rodríguez Calderón is 60 years old, has six children and a pseudonym that refers to his blunt character in the face of injustice. The well-known "El Bronco" is the independent candidate who seeks to win the Mexican elections on July 1, proposing to eliminate the minimum wage and apply a zero-tolerance policy against impunity, among many other things.
Leer en español: "El Bronco": Un candidato presidencial que conoce de cerca la violencia en México
"El Bronco" has been known as such for almost three decades. Everything started after a Mexican journalist knew details about an incident in which Rodríguez Calderón was involved. As reviewed by the web portal La Silla Rota, an error of an employee at a gas station unleashed disgust in the then leader of the League of Agrarian Communities (Liga de Comunidades Agrarias, in Spanish).
The altercation was observed by a state official who lined up in the same place to get gasoline and it was then that the journalist Víctor Salvador Canales wrote an article that began with a line where it read: “Al que le salió lo bronco fue a Jaime Rodríguez Calderón…”.
Since then the media baptized him as "El Bronco", a term that in Mexico is used to indicate a person seeking conflict, rebellious, or a person who is upset or in a bad mood.
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From agronomy to politics
Jaime Rodríguez is an Agronomist from the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL, by its acronym in Spanish), but from an early age, he began to get involved in politics. His first triumph was awarded during the student period since as he mentions on his official website, in the university he led a fight with his colleagues against the government to avoid an increase in the public transport fare. The protest was successful and they managed to maintain the cost of the ticket.
"El Bronco" has been married three times and has six children. One of them died in 2009 at age 23, after suffering what was reported as an automobile accident. However, Jaime Rodríguez has publicly qualified that the death of his son is the responsibility of the organized crime:
That same year, the current presidential candidate and then mayor of García, Nuevo León, also suffered the kidnapping of his daughter and two attacks attributed to Los Zetas, known as the most violent drug gang in Latin America.
According to "El Bronco" on his website, in 2009 his life changed and the loss of his eldest son gave him the strength to fight against drug trafficking and insecurity in the municipality he led. With this same objective, he began to build a discourse that would lead him to become the first independent governor of Mexico in the state of Nuevo Leon and now aspires to reach the presidency.
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Some controversial proposals
Among the proposals of Jaime Rodriguez is the reduction of VAT from 16% to 10% to allow people to reactivate the economy of the country and get less money to the government, according to his official website. "El Bronco" also proposes eliminating the minimum wage and replacing it with remuneration based on the experience and merit achieved by the workers. However, the candidate has not specified how he intends to achieve this.
The candidate is also committed to a Mexico that protects the environment and promises, of reaching the presidency, to offer subsidies and tax reductions to companies that acquire practices for the reduction of pollution. In addition to promoting free higher education and propose free transportation for students, seniors, and people with disabilities, in exchange for social work.
Latin American Post | Krishna Jaramillo
Translated from ""El Bronco": Un candidato presidencial víctima de la violencia en México"
