{"id":62768,"date":"2019-12-11T12:00:06","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T17:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=62768"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:37:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:37:25","slug":"mexico-transformed-challenges-changes-after-a-year-of-leftist-government","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/mexico-transformed-challenges-changes-after-a-year-of-leftist-government\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexico transformed Challenges, changes after a year of leftist government"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Mexico transformed Challenges, changes after a year of leftist government\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

A year ago, the first leftist president in Mexico\u2019s modern history took office.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The victory of Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador, commonly referred to as AMLO in Mexico, swept aside a long-standing political establishment in a society where most politicians are seen as corrupt and detached from the reality of ordinary citizens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s victory not only threatened the entrenched political and economic interests that dominated Mexican politics for decades, it also came as a reprieve to an embattled left in Latin America at a time when right-wing forces were on the rise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transformative project of the new government, dubbed Mexico\u2019s \u201cFourth Transformation,\u201d<\/a> has promised to break with the neoliberal model that had turned the country into the most unequal among OECD nations<\/a>. This has meant a drastic change in policy priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under L\u00f3pez Obrador, the government no longer promotes investment and job creation at any price. Instead, it announced the largest increase to the minimum wage in 36 years<\/a>, passed a major labour reform strengthening workers\u2019 rights<\/a> and ended decades of discretionary tax breaks to large corporations<\/a>. These measures have unsettled some economic elites, who are now hesitant to invest in a country that is changing the rules of the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

L\u00f3pez Obrador seems aware that the surly relations between the government and the private sector can hinder his transformative agenda. Despite his campaign promise of a four per cent annual growth, the economic scenario in Mexico is daunting. As the country struggles to avoid recession, rating agencies and international organizations are lowering their outlooks for the Mexican economy<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n L\u00f3pez Obrador is seen with Canada\u2019s Chrystia Freeland at the signing of an update to the USMCA. (AP Photo\/Marco Ugarte)<\/span>
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This is why Mexicans were so prompt to ratify USMCA, a renegotiated version of NAFTA, and its subsequent overhaul<\/a>, despite the free-trade deal being at odds with L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s anti-neoliberal stance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rapid ratification of the trade agreement not only sent a message of certainty to domestic and international investors, it also flagged the limits of the AMLO government when it comes to breaking with Mexico\u2019s neoliberal past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violence persists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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A second threat to L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s agenda is the rising levels of insecurity in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new administration has been unable to contain a wave of violence that it inherited from its predecessors. In fact, 2019 is on the verge of becoming the deadliest year on record in Mexico<\/a>. The massacre of the LeBaron family<\/a> \u2014in which six children and three women were murdered in northern Mexico \u2014 and the failed attempt to arrest the son of drug lord El Chapo in Culiac\u00e1n<\/a>, where the military was outnumbered by cartel gunmen, are just two examples of the government\u2019s incapacity to end the violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n Protesters hold a banner in support of the LeBaron family during a protest against L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s first year in office in Mexico City on Dec. 1, 2019. (AP Photo\/Ginnette Riquelme)<\/span>
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The president\u2019s \u201cabrazos, no balazos\u201d (hugs, not bullets) policy<\/a> has been harshly criticized for its naivet\u00e9 and has been largely ineffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, one year into leftist rule in Mexico and it\u2019s not all bad news. Despite economic woes and enduring violence, L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s government has made considerable progress dismantling a system that almost solely benefits the political and economic elite and keeps more than 50 million Mexicans in poverty<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

L\u00f3pez Obrador started his term by announcing harsh austerity measures to bureaucrats and politicians, including cutting his own salary in half<\/a> and ditching the presidential mansion, jet and guards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tackling corruption<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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In a clear break with the past, his government is prosecuting corrupt officials from previous administrations. Social spending is also being revamped. About 18 million youth and elderly Mexicans are now receiving their scholarships and pensions<\/a> from social programs as cash transfers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps most importantly, L\u00f3pez Obrador is transforming the perception of political power in Mexico and how it should be used. At most events he attends, the president finds himself surrounded by supporters who cheer and hug their leader without apparent constraints \u2014 in contrast to the strong security measures taken by his predecessors when in public. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n L\u00f3pez Obrador greets supporters in Mazatlan, Mexico as he kicked off a nationwide tour after his election. (AP Photo\/Eduardo Verdugo)<\/span>
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When asked about his safety, L\u00f3pez Obrador confidently replies that it is the people who look after him<\/a>. Despite his populist tone, he seems to understand that first and foremost, Mexico\u2019s marginalized majorities need to be seen and recognized as part of a society that has excluded them for too long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we want to understand the change Mexico is undergoing, we must measure progress with metrics other than the GDP. Only when we gauge it via other methods will we understand the extent to which the political and economic structures that have made Mexico one of the most inequitable countries in the world are being dismantled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing public perceptions about political power might not be as tangible as economic growth and decreasing homicide rates, but its impact on building a more inclusive society are real and every bit as important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Carleton University is a member of this unique digital journalism platform that launched in June 2017 to boost visibility of Canada\u2019s academic faculty and researchers. Interested in writing a piece? Please contact Steven Reid<\/a> or sign up to become an author<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All photos provided by The Conversation from various sources.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

—
\nCarleton Newsroom<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A year ago, the first leftist president in Mexico\u2019s modern history took office. The victory of Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador, commonly referred to as AMLO in Mexico, swept aside a long-standing political establishment in a society where most politicians are seen as corrupt and detached from the reality of ordinary citizens. L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s victory not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":62771,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[1623],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-62768","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-expert-perspectives"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/62768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/62768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62795,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/62768\/revisions\/62795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=62768"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=62768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}