” You Campaign in Poetry and You Govern in Prose”


    Mr. López Obrador, center, with relatives of the 43 students who went missing after being arrested in 2014. Photo Credit: Alfredo Estrella/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Guatemalan refugees are flooding into Mexico. They are today’s problem. But Mexico is soon to swear in a new president.

Politicians say what they have to say to get elected. Once they are in office, keeping their promises is not always that easy.

The most recent example is Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He will become the President of Mexico on December 1, 2018.

Mr. López Obrador is traveling around Mexico to thank voters for his victory. He continues to repeat his campaign pledge “I will not fail you.” Then, in a lower voice, he says “We wish we could give more.” What does this mean?

Mr. López Obrador won by a landslide in July. He said fighting corruption, violence and poverty were his goals.

Now voters will have to face reality. Mr. López Obrador has started to backtrack on his promises. He promised cash grants for young people. Higher pensions for retirees. Price supports for farmers. He is for loans for small businesses. Now, he recently told a rally “We are not going to spend more than what comes in.”

Mr. López Obrador promised to pull the military off the streets. He now admits that Mexico’s police forces cannot protect citizens. The military forces will remain on the streets for the near future.

Mr. López Obrador goes back and forth on the economy. Sometimes he says it is in solid shape. Other times he says the nation is bankrupt. He changed a plan to increase oil production. In July, he said he would increase output by about 30 percent in two years. Now he states it will take six years to increase the level of output.

Some observers say Mr. López Obrador is simply getting ready to govern. Other observers are critical. One academic said “López Obrador has almost 20 years of experience campaigning. He still does not know what to do. It shows that he is not very concerned about policy. Or he does not know how to do it.”

The biggest problem in Mexico is violence. Much of the violence is linked to the government’s war on drugs.

Mr. López Obrador promised to establish a truth commission.  This would be like the peace processes put in place after civil wars in other Latin American countries. He has said the commission would discuss ways to help the victims of the most serious crimes. In 2014, 43 students disappeared. The families will be waiting to see what happens.

The violence problem in Mexico requires more than the goodwill of the president. It needs good law enforcement. However, Mexico has weak court and police systems. These agencies and systems have sometimes been part of the problem.

An expert said of the president, “Reality will prove to be much more stubborn than what he expects.”

Source: The New York Times, October 20, 2018

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