Violence in Mexico spiked in , surpassing historic levels reported in Standing up to Trump. Life in politics. Image source, Reuters. This time, he won. Related Topics. Published 8 June Published 28 June Published 30 May He refuses to wear a mask and has repeatedly downplayed the importance of masks throughout the pandemic.
He criticizes wind turbines for ruining the rural landscape and promotes Mexican coal as a fuel for producing electricity. He embraces a traditional view on the role of women within Mexican households and refuses to advocate for the decriminalization of abortion.
At the start of the pandemic he reassured the public that families could rely on their daughters to care for them if they got sick from Covid. Foreign observers struggle to characterize Lopez Obrador.
Some TV commentators in the U. He is best understood as an old-school conservative. The question for Mexico is whether he has aspirations towards authoritarian rule. Populists can be rightwing or leftwing in their ideologies and can emerge as a legitimate response to pervasive frustrations with inequality, slow economic growth, corruption and crime.
But, populist rhetoric opens the door for authoritarian rule by charismatic leaders. Competent reformers who tap into popular frustrations can play a role in strengthening and restoring democracy. But, populist leaders can also easily make the jump from disparaging existing institutions to working actively to undermine institutions and concentrate power.
Once elected into office populists will reveal through their policy choices and priorities whether they have aspirations towards authoritarianism. And, in the case of Lopez Obrador, his tendencies are alarming. He warns that election oversight bodies , antitrust watchdogs , regulatory agencies , open data portals , publicly funded foundations and independent government institutions are flawed but proposes eliminating them and replacing them with centralized institutions controlled by his own ministries.
A populist can identify pervasive problems. An authoritarian will point to concentrated control as the best solution. Populists can have an inclination towards rejecting institutional checks and balances. Authoritarians demand obedience. A charismatic demagogue who embraces both populism and authoritarianism can quickly become a threat to democracy. By contrast, Authoritarian-Populist parties typically target older generations through anti-establishment rhetoric while also defending traditional conservative values linked with family, faith, and patriotism.
He has spent the pandemic downplaying the virus and hyping the good-vs-evil drama his government faces in working to transform the country. He paints his achievements as miraculous acts in the face of unyielding opposition. His narrative reduces all criticism to complaints from an undifferentiated movement of illegitimate adversaries, rather than the organic concerns of ordinary citizens.
Like other populists he can adroitly identify the problems that affect and perturb the public. Only a messiah, after all, can claim to have monopoly control of the truth.
The president argues that past Mexican governments rigged the electricity market in favor of private capital at the expense of consumers and the Mexican state. Aside from taking part in the leaders' three-way meeting, Lopez Obrador would also hold bilateral talks with Biden and Trudeau in Washington, Ebrard said.
Mexico was scheduled to host the following summit of the North American leaders in , he added. The leaders started holding what is informally known as the Three Amigos summit in and met most years until The practice ended when U. President Donald Trump took office in January
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