Almost by definition, a Mexican standoff!

“Its origins are somewhat obscure, but the term “Mexican standoff” arose in the late 19th century, after a turbulent century in which Mexico underwent uprisings against the Spanish conquerors; occupation by a Habsburg prince under French auspices; continued strife and loss of large stretches of territory at the hands of the emerging, supremely self-confident and expansionist United States;

and more than three decades of autocratic rule by a strongman who emerged out of all this chaos. Initially, the term was derogatory, implying that Mexicans couldn’t decide anything, but as time wore on it took on the more neutral meaning of an irreconcilable situation - classically, in movie terms, two men with guns drawn who don’t really want to shoot, but who don’t want to be the first to put the gun down.
Now, two men, each of whom very much wants to be president of Mexico, have found themselves in just such a situation.”

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