Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is boasting that he survived a national recall vote. The truth, however, is more complicated, and many are saying it was a complete waste of time and taxpayers’ money.
The president, known primarily by his initials AMLO, himself called for the national referendum on his performance, fulfilling a campaign promise that he would ask the country’s electorate to evaluate his performance at the midpoint of his six-year term. Officials say the special election, the first of its kind for Mexico, cost some $77 million in direct expenses, not counting additional economic losses caused by business closures and other election-related costs.
AMLO’s office reports that more than 90% of the voters said they approve of the job he’s doing. However, only about 18% of qualified voters participated, in a country where presidential elections normally bring out more than 60%. Lopez Obrador’s own office had previously said that the results would not be considered official unless turnout was higher than 40%.
Tax-funded publicity stunts shouldn’t be necessary; the people of Mexico, like those of any country where they feel free to speak, normally are quite willing to voice their opinions about their government. And if he wants positive reviews, this president needs to be more active, more assertive, and more prudent.
Many people say AMLO has been generally ineffective in addressing many of Mexico’s pressing issues. Drug cartels continue to operate with impunity. The president has largely shifted the military’s focus from fighting the cartels to building infrastructure projects.
Analysts say Lopez Obrador has hurt his country more than he has helped. Much of his first three years in office have been spent renationalizing many key sectors of the economy and retreated from the world stage, with reduced influence in global politics — and trade.
More directly, he has shown little reaction to U.S. conservative officials and their increasingly bold insults directed at Mexico and its people, especially those who wish to cross into the United States. He has said little about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s increasingly frequent and caustic pronouncements at the border about hostile “invasions” from the south.
AMLO can still save his legacy in his remaining three years. He can publicly defend his constituents against such attacks. He can seek cooperation with the U.S. federal government on short-term immigration policies that protect migrants’ lives and rights while long-term solutions are debated. He can respond publicly to Abbott’s actions, such as recent interference with Mexican freight trucks, by pointing out how much those disruptions hurt the people of Texas, and the U.S. as a whole. He could take the opportunity to revisit the U.S.-Mexico water-sharing treaty, North American Development Bank charter and other agreements to tailor them to our changing world.
These are bold steps, but if Lopez Obrador is willing to take them, he surely will know what the people think of his efforts, and he won’t even have to ask.
