He drew criticism, and even ridicule, when he floated the idea of granting an "amnesty" to criminals. He said that he would not allow Mexico to be Mr Trump's "whipping boy", but added that he wants "friendship" and "mutual respect" with the US and that he would seek to avoid any trade war. However, he has blasted Mr Trump's anti-immigrant policies as "irresponsible" and "racist". His supporters erected encampments and blocked traffic in Mexico City for months.
Mexico candidate thrives on promise of change. Who is Mexico's new president? Mexicans worry about election bots, trolls and fakes. Image source, AFP. Message of renewal. If it beats expectations, the alliance could even get a two-thirds majority allowing Lopez Obrador to pursue constitutional changes to back his statist vision in the second half of his six-year term. That prospect worries some investors. He is barred from seeking re-election by law.
The president has put taking control of energy policy at the center of his economic agenda, arguing that past governments prioritized private interests at the public's expense. That ambition has been cramped by a constitutional energy reform by his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto, and many of MORENA's legislative changes have been frozen by lower courts.
His answer has been: see you at the Supreme Court. Supreme Court rulings are still pending on Lopez Obrador's moves to give precedence over private interests to national power utility the Comision Federal de Electricidad CFE and its oil and gas counterpart, Petroleos Mexicanos Pemex. Pressuring the court to side with him, he has threatened to change the constitution if it does not. Such a step could exacerbate disputes with allies by breaching Mexico's commitments under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade deal, business groups say.
Lopez Obrador's taste for using referendums to cancel infrastructure projects he opposes has further unsettled investors. He has also sparred with mining companies , criticizing how many concessions were granted them by past governments.
On the campaign trail, he adeptly embraced a soft form of populism, promising to tackle the longstanding problems of corruption and violent crime while working to catalyze a new type of broad-based economic development and growth. Unfortunately for Mexico, nearly halfway through his six-year term in office, Lopez Obrador has focused more on self-promotion than actually engaging with tackling the problems he promised to address. On average, his weekday morning discourses contain 80 lies.
He publicizes himself and his government, traveling, holding Trump-style rallies and press conferences, doing public relations for his pet projects , and trying to establish a direct relationship with voters. As is the case for other countries with populist leaders, the Covid pandemic has proven to be an unwelcome and calamitous surprise in Mexico. Lopez Obrador seems convinced of that he is meant to play a pivotal role in Mexican history.
He has not adapted well to the changing circumstances. The image he projects is folksy and socially conservative.
He refuses to wear a mask and has repeatedly downplayed the importance of masks throughout the pandemic. He criticizes wind turbines for ruining the rural landscape and promotes Mexican coal as a fuel for producing electricity. He embraces a traditional view on the role of women within Mexican households and refuses to advocate for the decriminalization of abortion. At the start of the pandemic he reassured the public that families could rely on their daughters to care for them if they got sick from Covid.
Foreign observers struggle to characterize Lopez Obrador. Some TV commentators in the U. He is best understood as an old-school conservative. The question for Mexico is whether he has aspirations towards authoritarian rule. Populists can be rightwing or leftwing in their ideologies and can emerge as a legitimate response to pervasive frustrations with inequality, slow economic growth, corruption and crime.
But, populist rhetoric opens the door for authoritarian rule by charismatic leaders. Competent reformers who tap into popular frustrations can play a role in strengthening and restoring democracy. But, populist leaders can also easily make the jump from disparaging existing institutions to working actively to undermine institutions and concentrate power. Once elected into office populists will reveal through their policy choices and priorities whether they have aspirations towards authoritarianism.
And, in the case of Lopez Obrador, his tendencies are alarming. He warns that election oversight bodies , antitrust watchdogs , regulatory agencies , open data portals , publicly funded foundations and independent government institutions are flawed but proposes eliminating them and replacing them with centralized institutions controlled by his own ministries.
A populist can identify pervasive problems. An authoritarian will point to concentrated control as the best solution. Populists can have an inclination towards rejecting institutional checks and balances.
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