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Leftist Lopez Obrador sworn in as Mexico president
MEXICO CITY, Dec 2, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Anti-establishment leftist Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador vowed a “deep and radical” change in Mexico as he swore
in as the country’s president Saturday, after winning a landslide election
victory.
The leader, widely known by his initials as “AMLO,” took the oath of office
and donned the presidential sash before Congress — where the coalition led
by the upstart party he founded four years ago, Morena, now has strong
majorities in both houses.
Ending 89 years of government by the same two parties, Lopez Obrador surged
to victory in the July 1 elections promising a new approach to issues fueling
widespread outrage: crime, poverty and corruption.
But not everyone is persuaded: critics say the sharp-tongued, silver-haired
leader has a radical and authoritarian streak. And despite his promises of
business-friendly policies, Mexican stocks and the peso have plunged in
recent weeks.
That did not stop Lopez Obrador, 65, from doubling down on his promise of a
sweeping “transformation” as he started his six-year term.
“It might seem pretentious or exaggerated to say it, but today is not just
the start of a new government. It is the start of a political regime change,”
he said, the presidential sash newly draped over his dark suit and burgundy
red tie.
“We will carry out a peaceful and orderly but also deep and radical
transformation.”
– Change in style –
After the traditional swearing-in ceremony, Lopez Obrador climbed in his
white Volkswagen Jetta — his car of choice — and headed to Mexico City’s
central square, the Zocalo, for a colorful second ceremony of his own design.
There, indigenous shamans purified him with incense and flowers, and
presented him with a symbolic chieftain’s staff.
“I reaffirm my commitment not to lie, rob or betray the Mexican people,” he
said, clutching the long wooden staff.
Jose Angel Mejia, 38, was among the tens of thousands of people who
gathered to fete the new president.
“It’s a historic day, I still can’t believe it,” he said, raising his
eight-year-old son’s arm in the air in celebration.
“We’re going to have a change at last.”
The new president inherits a sticky set of problems from his unpopular
predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto.
They include deeply entrenched corruption, gruesome violence fueled by the
war on drug cartels, and the caravan of 6,000 Central American migrants
camped at the US-Mexican border — not to mention the minefield that
diplomacy with Mexico’s giant northern neighbor has become under President
Donald Trump.
Lopez Obrador, a former protest leader and Mexico City mayor, has been
short on specifics regarding his plans for all of the above.
What he is promising, first and foremost, is a presidency like no other in
Mexican history.
Vowing to lead his anti-corruption, pro-austerity drive by example, he has
forsworn the presidential residence, jet and security detail, and cut his own
salary by 60 percent.
In a sign of the times, the sumptuous presidential residence, Los Pinos,
was opened to the public Saturday as a cultural center.
– Pressure from Trump –
Lopez Obrador’s inaugural address largely repeated the sweeping but vague
promises of his campaign.
He resumed his attempts to sooth the markets with promises of balanced
budgets and pro-investment policies.
But he also attacked Mexico’s “neoliberal” economic model as “a disaster”
and railed against Pena Nieto’s landmark privatization of the energy sector.
Lopez Obrador has caused jitters over the future of Latin America’s second-
largest economy with decisions such as the one to cancel a new $13-billion
airport for Mexico City that was already one-third complete.
The day’s guest list included a host of regional presidents — among them
crisis-torn Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, who was met with protests
from Mexico’s conservative opposition.
King Felipe VI of Spain, US Vice President Mike Pence, and first daughter
and White House adviser Ivanka Trump also attended.
President Trump, who was at the G20 summit in Argentina, has struck up a
surprisingly warm relationship with Lopez Obrador — though the migrant
caravan threatens to interrupt that honeymoon.
The American president is pressuring Lopez Obrador to accept a deal to keep
asylum-seeking migrants in Mexico while their claims are processed in the
United States.
Lopez Obrador’s foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, is due in Washington on
Sunday for talks on the issue with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1014 hrs