Americas Quarterly: Luis Rubio*
November 14, 2019
There is an internal dichotomy in AMLO that has been apparent since his days as mayor. The AMLO who is committed to a regressive agenda coexists alongside a more responsible self, one who will not kill the hen that lays the golden eggs (as seen in his push to secure a new NAFTA deal).
But where AMLO has been a surprise is the actual conduct of his government. He essentially took over the country the day he won the election and has kept a relentless pace ever since. .. Instead of the practicable plan for government he stuck to as Head of Government of Mexico City (2000-2005), as president AMLO has continued to act as a candidate: dogmatic, unapproachable and lacking a plan beyond concentrating power in his own person... Read full article
*Luis Rubio is president of Mexico Evalúa-CIDAC, an independent research institution. He was president of CIDAC, the Center for Development, before it merged with Mexico Evalua in 2017. He was president of the association of political risk scholars and a member of the Human Rights Commission of the Federal District [now Mexico City]. He received the Dag Hammarskjold Award (1993) and the National Journalism Award (1998). He is chairman of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations. Among his books are "A World of Opportunities and The Dilemma of Mexico: the Political Origins of the Economic Crisis" and, most recently, "Unmasked: López Obrador and The End of Make-Believe", published in July 2019. He holds a doctorate in political science from Brandeis University with a specialization in financial administration. @lrubiof
November 14, 2019
Two things appeared certain when Andrés Manuel López Obrador was elected president of Mexico in July 2018. First, that he would abandon the paradigm of free markets and democratic transition that began to take shape in the country in the 1980s. And second, that he would have little problem implementing his policy agenda, as he had been able to do as mayor of Mexico City [2000-2005].
MV Note: Mexico Voices is dedicated to the translation of articles written in Spanish in the Mexican press, giving the points of view of Mexicans regarding the many problems they face. We are making an exception here only in so far as this article by a Mexican, Luis Rubio, is published in English, in the Americas Quarterly, a publication of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.We make this exception becasue we find this article to be an excellent overview of the issues arising in the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, aka AMLO. We often translate Dr. Rubio's weekly Sunday Reforma column.After nearly 12 months in office, AMLO’s distaste for liberal economics and the institutional trappings of democracy has been largely borne out. But surprisingly, he has achieved very little progress in pushing his agenda and has even failed to appease many supporters. Rather than advance by pursuing a carefully crafted strategy, López Obrador continues to open ever more fronts on both domestic and international issues. Security, energy and the offer of political asylum to Bolivia’s deposed former President Evo Morales are just the latest examples. By now it is clear that López Obrador’s presidency will be tumultuous, to say the least.
But where AMLO has been a surprise is the actual conduct of his government. He essentially took over the country the day he won the election and has kept a relentless pace ever since. .. Instead of the practicable plan for government he stuck to as Head of Government of Mexico City (2000-2005), as president AMLO has continued to act as a candidate: dogmatic, unapproachable and lacking a plan beyond concentrating power in his own person... Read full article