Andres Lopez Manuel Obrador will be Mexico’s next president. Twelve years ago, he created his own political party. This was something unheard of in a country used to only one party the PRI. In Mexico, elections are held every six years and presidents can not hold office more than one term. After losing two previous elections, AMLO will now be in charge of one of the largest countries in Latin America.
He has an AMBITIOUS list and promises to immediately get to work after December 1, 2018 when he will take oath of office.
He has emphasized that he will root out corruption, reduce violence, and help impoverished areas.
In particular, Obrador has vowed to repair Mexico’s system of government contracts. As we all know, bribes in Mexico are commonplace and are responsible for billions of dollars of lost money for the government.
He is going to reduce salaries for government officials. He also said that he will lead by example and will take less salary than the previous president.
Obrador stated in his victory speech: “Corruption is the result of decadent political regime. We are convinced that this evil is the main cause of social and economic equality and also that corruption is to blame for the violence in our country. “
He also said will not live in Mexico’s White House called “Los Pinos”, but rather in a small home.
These all sounds like important political goals but many of the locals fear he will be another Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and take over private businesses.
The success or failure of these policies will have dramatic consequences for the U.S. since Mexico is America’s largest trading partner south of the border. Thousands of U.S. companies already in Mexico could be affected.
In addition, if president-elect Obrador’s radical ideas fail, Mexico’s huge population could try to emigrate to the United States. This would further complicate the illegal immigration problem.
While Obrador might seem like the popular solution to a country hurt by corruption, drugs and crime, Mexico should be aware that not all popular leaders do what they promise.