Still, with the rightward shift in the political landscape of the state and the nationalization of American politics over time, playing to the "hometown crowd" isn't as easy.

There was a wave of nationalizations of large companies, although some small private businesses were allowed to stay open until 1968.

“The conversation about nationalization, I think, is dependent on getting in the relatively short term some body of rights: 14, 15, 16, 17 clubs, and you’d start down the path from there,” he said.

The President’s office, immediately following Cardenas’ unannounced and unexpected broadcast, said the government would proceed to issue a decree, setting forth the terms for nationalization of the industry and new bases for its operation.

Any regional advantage has apparently been wiped away by the nationalization of politics, the everywhere reach of social media and, especially, the star-making capacity of TV news.