Jump to content

Leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador Wins Mexican Presidential Election


Recommended Posts

Leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador Wins Mexican Presidential Election

July 2, 2018 1:53 am

By Margaret Hartmann

2-mexico-president.w710.h473.2x.jpg

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the leftist former mayor of Mexico City, won Mexico’s presidential election by a large margin on Sunday, upsetting the nation’s political establishment. His party, Morena, did not exist during the last presidential election, and he defeated two other candidates from parties that have ruled Mexico for the past century. López Obrador ran on message of tackling corruption and offering more government aid to the poor, and his double-digit win gives him a mandate to begin making dramatic changes.

Exit polls showed López Obrador, known as AMLO, with between 43 and 49 percent of the vote. His two main rivals, Ricardo Anaya and Jose Antonio Meade, conceded on Sunday, though the official results will not be in until Monday.

It’s unclear if Morena will capture a majority in Congress as well, which would make him the first Mexican president in more than two decades to have a legislative majority. Sunday’s elections were the largest in Mexico’s history with all 628 legislative seats and 3,400 other positions up for grabs. There was a massive amount of violence during the election, with roughly 130 candidates and campaign staffers assassinated.

President Enrique Peña Nieto did not run, as Mexican presidents are limited to one term, but he probably would not have fared well. Nieto’s term was marked by scandal and his approval rating dropped from 54 percent when he was elected in 2012 to 17 percent in January 2018.

This backlash against Nieto and his Institutional Revolutionary Party, which was in power from 1929 to 2000 before Nieto retook the presidency, along with the widespread violence and corruption, left Mexican voters open to an unconventional candidate. López Obrador, who ran for president twice before, has drawn stylistic comparisons to President Trump. Aside from upending the political establishment, AMLO’s message is “steeped in the language of nostalgia for a better time — and in a sense of economic nationalism that some fear could reverse important gains of the last 25 years,” as the New York Times reports. He’s also combative, suspicious of the media, and at 62, the oldest person elected president of Mexico since 1913.

In many other ways the two men are polar opposites, and AMLO’s election could ramp up tensions between the U.S. and Mexico. López Obrador eschews luxury and has promised to cut his own salary while raising the pay of the lowest government workers. He also campaigned on increasing pensions for the elderly, providing grants to university students, and creating a public-works program that will employ 2.3 million young people. (He claims this will all be funded by money saved from eliminating corruption, but critics say his numbers don’t add up.)

While none of the presidential candidates were pro-Trump, López Obrador got a boost by promising to stand up to the U.S. president when necessary. While AMLO has said he wants to preserve NAFTA and maintain good relations with the Trump administration, he previously criticized the trade agreement. Rafael Elias, an analyst at Exotix, told CNBC that he expects “a belligerent AMLO that would not hesitate to take a hard stance and could possibly derail the advances” of U.S. negotiators.

For now, Trump was cordial, but it seems we may be referring back to this tweet after López Obrador takes office on December 1.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, elijah said:

What is his opinion on Trump and what is his idea on the future relations with Donald?

One of the worst things the current piece of shit murderer of a president did was to invite Trump to Mexico, roll out the red carpet, and give him the royal treatment, BEFORE HE WON THE ELECTION. DURING THE CAMPAIGN. Mexicans were furious. This, along with many other scandals and extremely unpopular policies, was devastating for him and his party that have literally controlled the country since the revolution. For the first time ever, they lost their majority in both the upper and lower houses of congress, several governorships etc. 

Going back to your question, he's been really outspoken about Trump, extremely critical about how the imbecile in office right now handled that entire debacle, and he's been very clear that he'll represent us with dignity and respect, but also that he's ready to start a dialogue with Trump, and working together, blah blah.

I'm a realist and I know things won't change drastically, but it was AMAZING to see the majority of the country vote for someone other than the status quo. Regardless of what this president does or doesn't do, those parties are going to have to completely overhaul their entire existence, or just die out. 

Also, I have spent the last 6 months hearing my upper middle class, fair skinned - white, privileged coworkers calling us leftists poor, ignorant, mediocre, "indian" (a derrogatory term for darker skinned people), ghetto, etc., etc. for wanting to vote for AMLO (I'm sure the other Mexican members on this board think the same thing). Seeing their stupid, ugly faces today was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced in my entire life. It's like imagine working in a conservative environment and walking into the office the day after Obama won. :inlove: 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, ULIZOS said:

Also, I have spent the last 6 months hearing my upper middle class, fair skinned - white, privileged coworkers calling us leftists poor, ignorant, mediocre, "indian" (a derrogatory term for darker skinned people), ghetto, etc., etc. for wanting to vote for AMLO (I'm sure the other Mexican members on this board think the same thing). Seeing their stupid, ugly faces today was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced in my entire life. It's like imagine working in a conservative environment and walking into the office the day after Obama won. :inlove:

Everyone outside of Latin American prefers their Latins dark. Dark is sexy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, ULIZOS said:

One of the worst things the current piece of shit murderer of a president did was to invite Trump to Mexico, roll out the red carpet, and give him the royal treatment, BEFORE HE WON THE ELECTION. DURING THE CAMPAIGN. Mexicans were furious. This, along with many other scandals and extremely unpopular policies, was devastating for him and his party that have literally controlled the country since the revolution. For the first time ever, they lost their majority in both the upper and lower houses of congress, several governorships etc. 

Going back to your question, he's been really outspoken about Trump, extremely critical about how the imbecile in office right now handled that entire debacle, and he's been very clear that he'll represent us with dignity and respect, but also that he's ready to start a dialogue with Trump, and working together, blah blah.

I'm a realist and I know things won't change drastically, but it was AMAZING to see the majority of the country vote for someone other than the status quo. Regardless of what this president does or doesn't do, those parties are going to have to completely overhaul their entire existence, or just die out. 

Also, I have spent the last 6 months hearing my upper middle class, fair skinned - white, privileged coworkers calling us leftists poor, ignorant, mediocre, "indian" (a derrogatory term for darker skinned people), ghetto, etc., etc. for wanting to vote for AMLO (I'm sure the other Mexican members on this board think the same thing). Seeing their stupid, ugly faces today was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced in my entire life. It's like imagine working in a conservative environment and walking into the office the day after Obama won. :inlove: 

 

 

Interesting. It would be really interesting  how the relationship with Mexico evolves in the coming months. Here, in Europe, we are kind of shocked how Trump has treated Canada, Mexico and EU... The supposed alleys have got the coldest shower while North Korea etc. are treated like friends...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, erotica blu said:

Everyone outside of Latin American prefers their Latins dark. Dark is sexy.

So fair skinned white middle upper class Mexicans think they are better ? 😂😂 they need a reality check. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, GOD said:

So fair skinned white middle upper class Mexicans think they are better ? 😂😂 they need a reality check. 

For themselves the value is being light or white passing. But Americans have a limited idea on who qualifies as white. And evidence of Hispanic origin usually negates all else for stateside gatekeepers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, GOD said:

So fair skinned white middle upper class Mexicans think they are better ? 😂😂 they need a reality check. 

It's ridiculous and embarrassing and YES they do. And I think they got it on Sunday :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, elijah said:

Interesting. It would be really interesting  how the relationship with Mexico evolves in the coming months. Here, in Europe, we are kind of shocked how Trump has treated Canada, Mexico and EU... The supposed alleys have got the coldest shower while North Korea etc. are treated like friends...

 

Yes, there's a trade deficit and they do buy more from us (Canada, Mexico and the EU), BUT that doesn't change the fact that we also buy BILLIONS and BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars of goods from them. It would be devastating for everyone and a lot of industries all over the world, including those in the U.S., would suffer if he gets too crazy.  I pray it's just him trying to give the local US industry a boost and he doesn't get too out of control. It just baffles my mind that we have pictures of him and the other G7 members going at it, then he's all smiles and buddies with KIM FUCKING JUNG UN and DUTERTE. Jesus, even Trudeau is pissed off. Canadians are NEVER pissed of.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...