Politics: More of the opposition starts to move
A National Anti-AMLO Front, better known as Frenaa, has emerged by default as the main public expression of opposition to López Obrador’s administration, thanks to the paralysis and irrelevance in which opposition parties remain engulfed. Over the past four months, the front has organized ever larger protests around the country, culminating in a permanent encampment outside the National Palace since mid September and an October 3 march in the nation’s capital that appears to have attracted as many as 50,000 protestors, by far the largest protest against the president since he took office almost two years ago.
To its credit, Frenaa is currently the only vehicle through which pent-up social discontent can be expressed. Its activism has made it the face of active opposition to President López Obrador’s government, but perhaps one that fits AMLO’s efforts to polarize society and cancel anyone and everyone who opposes or even criticizes him.
The front is not interested in elections, political parties, or formal politicking; its concept of public life coincides with what some theoreticians refer to as anti-politics. It has set for itself the highly improbable goal of getting AMLO to resign before November 30, and thereafter setting up a National Citizens Council “as the great conglomerate of organized citizens to serve as the supreme oversight body directing the destiny of a New Mexico.” Or as the front’s leader described it, "an institute for certifying public servants". Hardly a platform to attract the millions of people angered by the decisions and attitude of the current administration, a task made all the more difficult by the front’s obvious ultra conservative Catholic views and classist biases.
But there is a sign that a considerably broader opposition force may be emerging with the call issued last week by over 100 civil society organizations to build a social movement under the slogan “Sí por México”. Its stated mission is to break down the walls that separate citizens from politics by putting the civil society´s main causes in the center of public debate, and making sure there are politicians working to support those causes. Though the organization will be formally announced only later this month, it clearly could enjoy dramatically broader appeal and is focused on building the sort of coalition capable of taking back the Chamber of Deputies.
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