Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, President of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party, delivers a speech to supporters, in Mexico City, Mexico June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ginnette Riquelme
New York Times: The Riddle of López Obrador
By Guillermo Osorno
Mr. Osorno is a cultural activist in Mexico and a López Obrador supporter.
Mexico City — With Mexico’s presidential election less than a month away, Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s victory seems inevitable. People are not arguing about whether he will win, but about the size of his victory.
One reliable poll says he will get 54 percent of the vote in a contest with two other major candidates, and another suggests that his coalition, Juntos Haremos Historia, will sweep the Congress. Such a complete victory would transform Mexico’s political map, not unlike the way Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Carlos Salinas de Gortari of Mexico realigned political alliances and national priorities.
After 18 years of trying, and trying again, Mr. López Obrador, widely known as AMLO, may have a historic opportunity. He has said that his presidency will signal the start of Mexico’s fourth revolution, following independence from Spain in the early 19th century, the liberal reforms later that century, and the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century.
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WNU Editor: The word "populist" is only used once in this commentary post .... but a populist he is, and like President Trump he has become the choice of millions who strongly believe that the system has failed them, and see him as a viable alternative to what has been the status quo for years. The difference is that Andrés Manuel López Obrador is a populist from the left (unlike President Trump who is a populist on the right) .... and populists from the left .... like Hugo Chavez in Venezuela or Evo Morales in Bolivia .... usually do not like to give up power when they have.
