September 30, 2024, marked the end of the six-year presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO, Tepetián, Tabascao, 1953). His government was characterized by controversial (for the right wing) constitutional reforms, increased capacities of state institutions, and a clear attempt to redistribute wealth. It is no coincidence that these governmental qualities are those of the first president in decades who does not belong to either the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) -which continuously governed Mexico for 71 consecutive years- or the National Action Party (PAN), both center-right and right-wing parties respectively, which became staunch internal opponents of the progressive government.
Beginnings in the PRI and the creation of the PRD
Surely the president was in no way surprised by the kind of opposition he faced from these parties if we take into account that AMLO began his political career in the PRI during the seventies, although he ended up breaking with that party after the political crisis that would place Carlos Salinas de Gortari in the presidency in 1988. This controversy with the PRI leadership would cause AMLO to break with the party and found the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), a political organization that sought to be the epicenter of the center and center-left political movements in the country.
AMLO became president of the PRD in the State of Tabasco and initiated a dispute of several years against the PRI, which he repeatedly accused of electoral fraud. He led the march called “Exodus for Democracy” which arrived in the Mexican capital and there, on January 11, 1992, he made a speech before tens of thousands of people. AMLO gradually ceased to be merely the state leader of Tabasco to become a national political figure.
From regional politician to national politician
In 1994, he ran against PRI candidate Roberto Madrazo Pintado for the governorship of Tabasco and was defeated. AMLO denounced electoral fraud and excessive campaign spending by the PRI candidate and once again called on his supporters to take to the streets and hold another march called “Caravan for Democracy”. In it he called to disavow the results of the electoral fraud, to build an interim government, and to assume a sort of civil resistance against the repeated frauds of the PRI. In addition, the “Caravana” began to oppose the PRI’s harshest neoliberal measures, such as the privatization of the national oil company, PEMEX. To this end, they devised a strategy of blocking the entrances to the oil company’s facilities and thus also demanded compensation for 40,000 peasants and fishermen affected by the oil company. AMLO was injured during the demonstrations.
His performance as a political and popular leader soon took him to the top of the PRD and there he turned the party into the second most-voted party in Mexico; they obtained 125 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Furthermore, in 1997, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano, a strong man of the PRD, became Head of the Government of Mexico City with 48% of votes in favor. It was the first important victory of the PRD in its history and few doubted that it had much to do with AMLO’s administration of the party. Soon, more electoral victories began to follow: in 1998, state victories in the states of Tlaxcala and Zacatecas; in 1999, state victories in Baja California and Nayarit.
Head of Government of the capital city
AMLO soon understood that he had to abandon his state pretensions in Tabasco and focus on a new objective: Mexico City. In 2000, he registered his candidacy for Mexico City’s Chief of Government despite fierce opposition from the PRI and PAN, who alleged that AMLO had not lived enough years in the capital to be a candidate. In reality, the accusations hid a desire to prevent the PRD president from acquiring greater political notoriety at any cost. However, despite the opposition, thanks to a broad alliance of center and center-left parties, AMLO won the election with 37.7% of the votes.
His government was characterized by constant communication with the media, which he summoned every day at 6:00 a.m. to explain the work he was carrying out (a communication strategy he would never abandon). His public works projects made him very popular in the capital: the enormous highway called “Anillo Periférico del Valle de México”; the first line of the Metrobus; an ambitious program of pensions for the elderly; assistance to single mothers, the disabled, the unemployed, peasants, etc.; medical consultations to poor people; delivery of school supplies to students; construction of the Public Hospital of Specialties; among other projects. In addition, the homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants dropped during his administration: in 2001 it was 9.01% while in 2005 it was 7.77%. Economically, the GDP of the Federal District grew from 1.17 trillion pesos in 2001 to 1.6 trillion pesos in 2005; in addition, during his administration, the lowest unemployment rate in the history of the city up to that time was recorded.
AMLO’s opponents criticized his investment in social programs, accusing him of being a populist and of building his image at the expense of the treasury. However, the Chief of Government bluntly said that whenever the right wing sees investment for the poorest, they label the opponents as populists, no matter who they point the finger at. Be that as it may, AMLO became one of the most popular politicians in the country. According to some polls, he even had the support of 85% of the people of the capital, and one contest even called him “the second-best mayor in the world”.
AMLO’s opposition promptly tried to close the way to a very possible presidential candidacy. Thus, it initiated a process that sought to remove him from certain political rights for allegedly having disobeyed a court order, i.e., to remove him from office for contempt of court. The dispute between Vicente Fox’s national government and AMLO’s Mexico City government escalated to become the main controversy in the country. Many saw this as an anticipation of the future electoral contest. On April 7, the withdrawal of AMLO’s judicial immunity was approved, and he immediately called for a “civil resistance” and declared his willingness to go to prison if necessary.
First presidential election and fraud
After several pseudo-legal tricks by the opposition, AMLO was able to participate in the 2006 presidential elections against Felipe Calderón (PAN) and other secondary candidates. Calderon and his team initiated a media campaign based on the generation of fear against AMLO. One of the campaign slogans was “López Obrador, a danger for Mexico” while comparing him to Hugo Chávez and repeatedly saying that AMLO was a “risk for democracy”.
Despite the huge electoral campaign against AMLO, many polls indicated that he was likely to be the next president of Mexico. However, after the July 2, 2006, elections, the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) announced that Felipe Calderón had won the elections. Suspicions arose throughout the country. AMLO and his supporters claimed that again an electoral fraud had taken place and requested a full recount of the votes. The request was denied, and a partial recount of the votes was performed. After several calculations, the electoral authorities reported that Calderón defeated López Obrador by a mere 230,000 votes. AMLO’s supporters insisted that there was fraud because as more ballot boxes were opened, AMLO gained more votes and Calderón lost dozens of votes, which is why they thought that if all the tally sheets were opened, the result would be different.
Although Calderón was declared the winner, AMLO and his followers insisted that they had been robbed of victory. They set up permanent encampments along Paseo de la Reforma, one of Mexico City’s most important avenues, which caused traffic chaos in the capital. Finally, on November 20, 2006, they decided to declare AMLO as the legitimate president without the authorization of the electoral authorities. A symbolic cabinet was formed and AMLO went around the country to explain how the presidency had supposedly been stolen from him and who was behind the fraud.
In a public statement, AMLO said:
The constitutional order was fractured since the judges refused to make the election transparent to submit to a privileged minority that has taken over the institutions and holds them hostage for its benefit. This attack on constitutional legality and democratic life makes it necessary to resume the exercise of popular sovereignty and abolish once and for all the regime of corruption and privileges that prevails in the country. Therefore, even if my adversaries do not like it, to hell with their institutions!
AMLO was undoubtedly defeated, but not for long. The Mexican leader had understood that to triumph he had to do so against the institutions he sought to govern. He would not cease in his eagerness to reach the presidential chair and undertake the necessary reforms to transform Mexico.