South America, Central America, and Mexico have one problem in common - drug cartels. Until they are ferreted out and jailed for life, there will be no peace or safety for the citizens; regardless of who is in power and their well-intentioned efforts.
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@Ma
These cartels won't lose any of their power, money or influence in Latin America until the United States ends the disastrous War on Drugs. Almost 50 years on and it has only led to increased gang violence and political/domestic instability throughout Latin America.
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Why are those leaders who address the issues of the poor, inequality and corruption immediately labeled dangerous populist leftists while those who lead with policies to enrich the 1% considered sound leaders? I'd trade three years of Trump for one year of AMLO any day.
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@michael
Because democratically elected, left-leaning leaders in Latin America (Jacobo Arbenz, Salvador Allende, Evo Morales, etc.) are "dangerous populists and strongmen" while right-wing leaders who force their way into power through military action (Carlos Castillo Armas, Augusto Pinochet, Jeanine Anez, etc.) are "friends of democracy and liberty".
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"As Troubles Grow, Mexicans Keep the Faith With Their President" ... until those Mexican liberals who elected milquetoast Presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador believing peaceful coexistence with the drug cartels is possible find themselves getting shot at.
To quote Irving Kristol's memorable adage: "A a neo-conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality".
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“...pouring money into social programs...”
Funny how the corporate media never talk about “pouring money” into the military.
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He has also failed to show any commitment to human rights when it comes to dealing with Trump.
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@NJW 40 thousand National Guard soldiers dispatched to the South border , to enforce Trump's Wall. Just an example of how close AMLO and Trump are.
The mexican president is mean, revengeful and demagogue.
He has become a de facto ally of the organized crime. He will not seize drugs or capture drug lords.
His economic policies have produced ZERO growth and had scared investment.
He is destroying the institutions such as the electoral institute, the education board, the energy commission, the free press.
His money giveaways are only making people dependent.
He has said "zero corruption" but keeps Manuel Bartlett at CFE for example.
So yes. A big demagogue, and a big lie teller
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Totally agree with you. I believe his mental health is deteriorating as well. An incompetent person followed by incompetent staff members who ultimately have no saying in what he'll eventually do. Makes me feel a lot like 1984 because even though he is part of a political party, he IS in fact the party.
I don't believe this article addresses enough the contradictions that he runs into every day. A compulsive liar and a hypocrite. Can't believe it's been only one year.
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Millions of Mexicans are desperately poor. The only president who cared to improve their lot Lazaro Cardenas, who served in the 1930s. He oversaw far-reaching land reform.
Cardenas is best known for having expropriated the oil industry, setting off a bitter conflict with the U.S. The move was hugely popular in Mexico.
Lopez genuinely cares for the poor and shows it.
In assessing his first year, it's important to note the mess he inherited from his notoriously corrupt and inept predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto.
So, by comparison, Lopez shines.
Mexico badly needed a populist president willing to go all out for the poor. Economic disparity in Mexico is horrible.
Traditionally Mexican presidents have only talked about aiding the poor, but in fact ignored them.
Finally, it's important to know that a great deal of power is concentrated in the presidency. The legislature is of little consequence.
So, by taking charge, Lopez is only following Mexican political tradition.
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@Ricardo Chavira Lázaro Cárdenas founded the modern PRI party,also CTM and many other "charro" unions, instituted the disastrous ejido collectivization, just a reminder of his "achievements". Yes, López and Cárdenas are very similar.
Following Venezuela's steps.
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Lopez Obrador has divided the country. He is a skilled speaker, but also a liar. For some us it is inconceivable how his popularity is still so high. The explanation, as your article sketches probably has to do with an act of faith on the part of that México that has been brutally ignored for so long. However he is unwilling or unable to attack many of the issues the country faces not a good omen.
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@Gerardo R Attacks like this have no credibility. Before the election, Catholics were distributing leaflets claiming that AMLO would legalize abortion nationwide, and close all the churches.
So, who are the liars?
The simple fact is, is doesn't matter what AMLO does; these people hate his guts.
P.S. If AMLO really does legalize abortion nationwide, I'm OK with it.
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It is funny how the help to poor people is labelled as handouts', while the help to private businesses is called as 'investment'. Although it does bring the question if the private business is so powerful, why it needs the Government investments?
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“He is trying to do his best” is the exact same phrase all the Trump supporters say to me. With a following that believes like that they can’t lose.
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@Richard
There is one huge difference: Trump is lying and Lopez is not.
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@Ricardo Chavira They are both delusional ... and liars. No difference.
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What is forgotten is the massive flight of Venezuelanos, some to Mehico, other milliions to Peru and Colombia. Those countries (plus Central America and the rest of South America) do not provide welfare -- you get a job. Peru and Colombia had their own problems with terroristes; Fujimoro used force while Colombia is trying treaty but it is showing cracks. In Mehico, the cartels have inserted themselves into the political system, serving as mayors or controlling them. As we know, politicians can be as bad as a cartel. More, the movement of drugs can be done in many different ways, just as pay-offs from oil and agriculture can be (Fujimoro ended up in jail; recently released). The problems are exacerbated by Trump and even though we supposedly have a vague trade agreement, Trump can destroy it at any moment. Ironically, some 30 years ago it was suggested here that all drugs be legalized because the gangs would destroy themselves here and in Mehico. Economics is what makes it worth living or dying.
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Mr. Lopez Obrador is the incarnation of the poor class arriving to the political power in Mexico. There's hope for a better Mexico since the one at the top is not a corrupt politician. As a Mexican, I trust in Mr. Lopez Obrador. To expect perfection is naive.
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Mexico elects someone on the Left and he is immediately held to a higher standard than any of his right wing predecessors. One year is not enough time to transform a country with as many problems as Mexico.
Lopez Obrador was elected by the people. It should be up to them to decide if they want to go back to the Conservatives, who did not solve any of these problems for decades.
It will take time to root out corruption.
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@Robert Scull This is not about right vs. left. There are 4 parties in Mexico and none have been able to over-come the corruption that the drug cartels keep alive. No one holds the left to a 'higher standard.'
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One can hope.
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Living on the Mexican border for fifty years in Arizona, seeing the changes that have come, how bad it has gotten and listening to President of Mexico after President of Mexico keep saying they were going to clean up Mexico, I have come to the conclusion that the Office of the Mexican Presidency is part of the Cartels... no matter who is elected. Same with most governorship's of Mexico and Mexican City officials and the Federal and local police.
They have all been paid for ahead of time.
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@Randy L.
And north of the border the office of the presidency as well as the senate and the supreme court are part of (and only for) the 1%.
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@Randy L. Mexican cartels are funded by US Drug distributors and users and armed by US gun merchants. The fault of the corruption lies on both sides of the border but the US is the one providing the economic incentive.
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As a Mexican, I can tell you, at least among my family and friends, most think he spouts a lot of rhetoric, and has done much more harm than good. Zero economic growth in most of his first year, dismantling most private daycare centers benefiting those workers’ families who do not have access to the state sponsored daycares, safe houses for battered women, and community kitchens benefiting poor citizens. He also has as part of his administration many officials suspected of corruption, and in at least one case, caught accepting bribes while he was in office.
Mr. López Obrador won the majority of votes, but it it certainly doesn’t mean he is supported by all Mexicans.
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@Mary Patricia Rouille Sanchez If you’re commenting on a NYTimes article in English, you aren’t his target audience. For far too long the Mexican government has not worked for the majority of the Mexican people. They are tired of the elite controlling the narrative and the overwhelming majority of resources, tired of paternalism, tired of corruption, tired of racial stratification. I won’t take a position on the specifics of Obrador’s policy decisions thus far, but undoing centuries of rot and cancer will take more than a year and complaining about lack of access to shelters when for generations women were slaughtered with impunity in poor communities feels... I don’t even have a word for it. The problem is so much larger than shelters and will require a whole scale destruction of the systems which have become dependent on corruption.
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Many Mexicans I speak to had some hope for Obrador but now think he is incompetent. Cancelling the almost complete airport project probably felt good for five minutes but was painfully stupid for a multitude of reasons. Expect the peso to freefall.
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@T The airport was far from complete.
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