Politics: Year off to a bad start for President López Obrador on several fronts
The first six weeks of the new year have been rough sledding for President Lopez Obrador, and this can be seen on several key fronts. The first is in the area of public security. Journalist Carlos Loret de Mola and the organization Mexicans Against Corruption (MCCI) and Impunity circulated a video revealing the luxurious home in Houston in which AMLO’s eldest son, José Ramón López Beltrán, had been living for some time. It was reported that the house belongs to a senior executive of the oil company where his wife works, and which also has several contracts with Pemex. The video was very widely viewed, and the official campaign both in the President’s defense and to discredit the journalist and the MCCI were insufficient and ineffective. Much of AMLO’s prestige rides on his reputation as being immune to corruption, so the potential damage to his image could be huge. Furthermore, high profile murders of journalists and other killings continue, tarnishing the country’s public security image and putting sectors of public opinion on edge.
On the economic front, analysts’ forecasts for 2022 have been downgraded, and inflationary projections upgraded. Nevertheless, AMLO claims, against all evidence indicating the contrary, that he remains optimistic. His administration’s economic reactivation plan lacks specific projects and information on the necessary budgetary allocations.
The President’s policies to combat the Covid-19 pandemic have come under fire for being ineffective and at odds with some of the World Health Organization recommendations. And in the sphere of foreign policy, problematic areas include the dispute with Panama over AMLO’s appointing an ambassador accused of sexual harassment; with Spain over the President’s announcement that relations would be put on pause due to the behavior of Spanish companies in Mexico; and with the US over the administration's clear disagreements with Washington regarding the electricity reform and environmental policy.
All this has taken a toll on the President’s popularity, with his approval ratings dipping seven points. But in the long term many observers fear the consequences of this will be increased polarization in society and a radicalization of the President’s discourse and actions.
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