In the midst of an overflowing crowd, the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, marched this Sunday in the heart of Mexico City leading an unusual demonstration that he called to celebrate the four years of his mandate.
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The leftist ruler advanced with great difficulty in the middle of the crowd that shouted “it is an honor to be with Obrador”, a classic motto of his supporters, and stubbornly tried to approach him to greet him or take photos of him.
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Tens of thousands of supporters walked wearing purple shirts and caps, the color of the ruling Morena party, and carrying banners and numerous flags with party emblems.
In the vast esplanade of the Plinth, the city’s main square, where a stage was set up and mariachi bands entertained the growing crowd, María Reina Rodríguez, a 74-year-old retiree, celebrated by singing. López Obrador “is a great man who cares about those below. I am from below, ”said Rodríguez, who assures that the government increased his pension and now he can live“ with dignity ”.
The mobilization, seen by analysts as a show of force in the face of the 2024 elections, packed at least four kilometers of avenues from the central roundabout of the Ángel de la Independencia to the Zócalo.
Accompanying the president were, among others, the Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrardthe Secretary of the Interior, Adán Augusto López, and the Mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaumthe three aspirants of the ruling party to succeed him in the presidency.
The atmosphere was tumultuous but festive, with musicians playing traditional songs and with the word Amlo –the acronym of the president– replicated on t-shirts, hats and posters of his supporters who came from various parts of the country. Carla Bernal, a 30-year-old student from Ixtapaluca, state of Mexico (center), is grateful for the scholarships for her siblings and the pension for her grandmother provided by this administration.
The mobilization also occurs in an advanced campaign environment. The president “knows (…) that in order for him to win elections he needs oiled machinery that works all the time,” said Gustavo López, a researcher at the Technological University of Monterrey.
That purpose is favored by the lack of strong leadership in the opposition, which has grouped itself into the Va por México platform, made up of the once hegemonic PRI, the right-wing Acción Nacional and the PRD (left).
This alliance has been broken by the PRI’s legislative support for some government initiatives. However, he has once again shown signs of unity for his rejection of Amlo’s proposal to reform the Electoral Institute (INE), so that its members are elected by popular vote and not by parties.
The president accuses the INE of having promoted two alleged frauds that deprived him of the presidency in 2006 and 2012. His adversaries maintain that he actually seeks to end the “independence” of the organization. The opposition also accuses López Obrador of being “authoritarian” and “populist” and of “militarizing” the country.
AFP
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