Mexico: In his farewell address, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador defends his administration to build ‘a new homeland’

Surrounded by a crowd, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obradordefended his legacy to build a “new homeland” during his last government report, marked by criticism from the markets and the United States of a judicial reform that will be inherited by his successor Claudia Sheinbaum.

In the Zócalo of Mexico City, the country’s main public square, The president said goodbye to thousands of followers, with a speech lasting almost two hours, supported by a popular approval of 73%according to a recent survey by the newspaper The Universal.

“We are living in an authentic democracy, building a new country,” said López Obrador, known as AMLO by his initials, during the final report of his six-year term in office, during which, he said, he sought to “reverse the decline that occurred with neoliberal politics.”

We were able to “lay the foundations to begin a new stage like the Fourth Transformation,” he added to applause.

Filled with supporters two hours before the speech began, the Zócalo was filled with a festive atmosphere, with bands of musicians, folkloric dances and attendees who took advantage of the wait to have breakfast, protected from the sun with umbrellas.

“I’m here because it’s the farewell of one of the country’s most historic presidents,” said 39-year-old entrepreneur Jose Luis Diaz, wearing a T-shirt with a caricature of Lopez Obrador surrounded by the phrase “I’m tired, goose,” popularized by the president.

“I feel very sad (…), there will not be a president like that again in a hundred years,” Díaz added, highlighting that what she will miss most about AMLO is his “sincere love” for the people.

Daniela Barrera, 27, who says she comes from an “Obradorista” family, believes that AMLO’s greatest achievement is having generated “hope for Mexico” and “making us feel protected as a country.”

Between groups that came from the interior, carrying flags and uniformed with caps and t-shirts, and even those who came spontaneously, The most repeated messages on signs and chants were “thank you” and “goodbye, president.”

Controversial reform

López Obrador will hand over power on October 1 to his fellow party member Claudia Sheinbaum, the first female president in Mexico’s history, elected with almost 36 million votes (60% of the votes) in the elections of June 2.

Sheinbaum will inherit a package of constitutional reforms, including a reform of the judiciary, which opponents see as a worrying autocratic move by the ruling party.

The backbone of the project proposes the election of judges and magistrates by popular vote, a proposal that also sparked a strike by workers in the sector.

The leftist government claims it is seeking to end the privileges of the judiciary, which it argues is at the service of elites. Its detractors counter that it will politicise justice and undermine its independence.

For the United States, Mexico’s main trading partner, as it is the destination for 83% of its exports, the reform represents a “risk” for democracy and “threatens” the current trade agreement (T-MEC) between the two countries and Canada, according to the US ambassador, Ken Salazar.

In response, López Obrador declared a “pause” in his relationship with Salazar, which does not extend to the entire administration of Joe Biden, he said.

Asked by AMLO during his speech if they prefer judges to be elected by legislators or by the people, the thousands of supporters in the Zócalo responded: “the people.”

“This helps us understand the sentiments of the people and also helps our neighbors and friends in the United States internalize it,” the president added.

The project is also a cause for concern for the markets. The stock market lost 2.8% in August and the peso fell, trading at around 20 pesos per dollar.

The Canadian ambassador to Mexico, Graeme Clark, said for his part that Investors “want stability” and “a judicial system that works if there are problems.”

Supermajorities

Although the reform proposal was submitted to Congress months ago, it will be debated and approved by the new legislature that takes office this Sunday.

In the new parliament, The ruling party Morena and its allies will debut the supermajorities they achieved in the June elections, with two-thirds of the seats in the House of Representatives and just one seat away from achieving the same proportion in the Senate..

The so-called “qualified majority” enables them to modify the Constitution without the need for opposition votes.

A Mexican government with supermajorities in Congress is an unprecedented situation in the 21st century. Its precedent dates back to the 1990s, when the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) still held the political hegemony it had held for more than 70 years.

The opposition has complained to the Mexican electoral court about irregularities in both the presidential election and the distribution of seats in Congress.

Both lawsuits were dismissed by the court that completed the certification of the results last week.