Kurt Hackbarth is a journalist, writer, and playwright covering Mexico and Latin America. He is an analyst on Mexico’s Canal Once and the cohost of Soberanía: The Mexican Politics Podcast.
In Mexico, AMLO’s protégé, Claudia Sheinbaum, holds an overwhelming lead in the polls for the presidency, while Clara Brugada is aiming to become mayor of Mexico City. They will help determine whether the party has a future beyond AMLO.
Bolivia has severed diplomatic relations with Israel, and Colombia, Chile, and Honduras have all recalled their ambassadors. Latin America is leading the way in opposing Israel’s war on Gaza.
Recent Republican bluster about a possible US ground invasion in Mexico to go after drug cartels remains on the fringe. But as bipartisan support for the border wall shows, far-fetched ideas can quickly become plausible in the run-up to a presidential election.
Since coming to office in 2018, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has made tackling inequality a key tenet of his Fourth Transformation. Millions have been lifted out of poverty, and the divide between rich and poor is shrinking.
In fealty to US foreign policy, Mexico has long refused to recognize Palestinian statehood. Last week, that finally changed, with AMLO’s government officially acknowledging Palestinian statehood and establishing a full embassy in Mexico City.
Mexican president AMLO and the Drug Enforcement Administration have been involved in a heated war of words following revelations of covert operations on Mexican soil. At the same time, an extensive web of corruption within the agency is being laid bare.
Last month, a federal US court found a former Mexican security chief guilty of colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel. The trial showed how both the US government and its Mexican clients have been guilty of the criminal activity they’re supposedly trying to stop.
The international press is again bludgeoning Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, this time accusing him of attacking the country’s democratic institutions. It’s a baseless charge intended to undermine a government that refuses total obedience to US hegemony.
The Index on Censorship, a right-wing nonprofit led by a vicious Jeremy Corbyn opponent that receives funding from the US government, has named Mexican president AMLO its annual “Tyrant of the Year.” Come on.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador rose to power on the promise of massive redistribution. In the last year, he has nationalized lithium stores and lifted the minimum wage by 20%. But to secure these reforms he’ll need to transform the power structures of the Mexican state and media.
For a century, the official labor movement in Mexico has been a racket of company unions and protection contracts for bosses. Now that there’s a genuine push to grow independent unionism, President Andrés Manuel Lopéz Obrador must get behind it.
Unlike most world leaders, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has boldly called for peace commission in Ukraine, foregrounding the need for open negotiations to end the war. At home, however, he has increased the power of the military.
No one was ever brought to justice for Mexico’s brutal “dirty war,” sparked by a police massacre of students in 1968. Now Andrés Manuel López Obrador has launched the first truth commission to address the government’s crimes.
In Mexico, water has been transformed from a public resource into a commodity to be sold for profit. It means that corporations can consume water in high quantities while people lack basic access to drinking water.
The US has attempted to exclude several countries from next month’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. The move has only backfired, prompting a boycott of the summit and renewed calls for an alternative union of Latin American and Caribbean countries.
A historic recall election took place in Mexico over the weekend, giving voters their first ever opportunity to remove an elected president from power. The outcome was a resounding victory for Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who now has a renewed mandate for change.
In Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador faces an uphill battle in getting his energy reforms through Congress. American interests, vehemently opposed to the idea of a public energy sector in Mexico, stand in the way.
In an effort to damage his reputation, sections of the Mexican media are coming after Andrés Manuel López Obrador with baseless charges and concocted slander. Staving off these right-wing media attacks is an essential line of defense for the Left.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador has led MORENA through the first half of its six-year term. The party is on track to win six more years in office, but to secure victory AMLO must deliver on the energy and electoral reforms he has promised.
US ambassadors to Mexico have long been a meddling presence. The latest to join the ranks is former interior minister Ken Salazar, who has already distinguished himself for trying to derail AMLO’s efforts to regain public control of the country’s energy sector.