How Morena Turned Anti-Corruption Politics Into Class Politics

junio 27, 2024 |
By Edwin F. Ackerman Anti-corruption politics was key to the landslide victory of AMLO’s Morena party in Mexico. Morena branded neoliberalism a form of upward […]

SUMMARY – MORNING PRESIDENTIAL PRESS CONFERENCE – THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2024

junio 27, 2024 |
Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: AMLO indicated that he was pleased that the attempted coup d'état on the part of a section of the Bolivian Armed Forces was not consummated. He acknowledged the Luis Arce government’s response to the crisis he faced yesterday; the President made it clear that the Judicial Reform does not affect its employees’ working conditions. On the contrary, their rights will be guaranteed and they will benefit from the reform, since they will no longer be subject to influence-peddling and impositions. "The reform has to do with the election, by the people, of judges and justices. Workers' rights are safe," he stressed; President López Obrador recalled that the electoral reform he proposed includes the elimination of proportional representation legislators, a reduction in the costs of elections, financing granted to the political parties and the electoral bodies, which could generate savings of US$540 million. This bill could include the proposal being made by president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum of not allowing the reelection of judges and justices.

SUMMARY – MORNING PRESIDENTIAL PRESS CONFERENCE – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2024

junio 26, 2024 |
Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: AMLO reiterated that the people of Mexico are very politicized, a factor that will help continue the country’s transformation; Minister of Public Education Leticia Ramírez emphasized that the transformation of education in Mexico is based on strengthening public schools and revalidating teachers’ performance in the classroom. Some 960,000 teachers have had their employment status regularized and US$10.47 billion have been earmarked for teacher salary increases; the School is Ours program, which provides funding for the maintenance of schools directly to parents' committees, has invested US$4.6 billion in improving 173,651 schools during the current administration; in the same period, the Benito Juarez Scholarships for Well-Being program has allocated additional billions of dollars in assistance for public school and higher education students and postgraduate scholarships; Also during the AMLO administration, the high school dropout rate declined from 14% in 2018-2019 to 9% in 2022-2023.

LEARNING FROM MEXICO’S “4TH TRANSFORMATION”

junio 25, 2024 |
By Meizhu Lui The June 2 presidential election of Claudia Sheinbaum made international headlines and gave an enthusiastic boost to Latin America’s Pink Tide. The […]

SUMMARY – MORNING PRESIDENTIAL PRESS CONFERENCE – TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2024

junio 25, 2024 |
Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: Ahead of the presidential succession, AMLO said he was very pleased with what his administration has achieved. "I am about to say 'mission accomplished' [...] I was able to contribute to making democracy a reality, the power of the people.”; Lopez Obrador reiterated his confidence in Mexico's virtual president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum. "She is a giant. She will be able, without any problem (to lead the country). [...] There is nothing that I see that could represent an obstacle for Mexico to continue growing and its people to continue benefiting," he said; the President congratulated journalist Julian Assange for obtaining his freedom, after five years in prison and seven years as an asylum seeker in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, due to accusations of violating U.S. security by making documents on government corruption and human rights abuses public; Minister of Security and Citizen Protection Rosa Icela Rodríguez rejected the narrative peddled by opposition groups alleging that the 2024 elections were the most violent in recent history. She explained that in 2018 there were 20 candidates murdered, while in 2024 there were 12 regrettable homicides.

HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY FOR MEXICO’S LEFT

junio 24, 2024 |
By David Raby This article first appeared in Morning Star. The landslide victory of Claudia Sheinbaum and Morena (strictly speaking, the Let’s Keep Making History […]

SUMMARY – MORNING PRESIDENTIAL PRESS CONFERENCE – MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2024

junio 24, 2024 |
Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: AMLO welcomed President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum’s announcement that one of her first governmental decisions will be to place the National Guard under the direction of the Ministry of National Defense. It is a guarantee that the National Guard will not be corrupted, he said; the President rejected the criticism leveled by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo regarding Mexico’s Judicial Reform, charging that such remarks constitute interventionism; President Lopez Obrador announced that the problem of avocado exports from Michoacán to the US is about to be resolved; the President indicated that he is preparing a personal report on the Ayotzinapa case, which will be delivered to the parents of the 43 missing teacher training college students. He reiterated that there is no evidence that the Army intervened in the disappearance of the youths, otherwise action would have already been taken; AMLO rejected claims by opposition-aligned journalist Carlos Loret de Mola that that he was being investigated and persecuted by the Mexican Government. The President clarified that it might be that the Financial Investigation Unit (UIF), responsible for detecting crimes such as money laundering, is looking into unusual movements in Loret de Mora’s bank accounts.

The Historical Defeat of the Mexican Right

junio 23, 2024 |
By Jose Luis Hernandez Ayala Beyond the purely electoral effects — winning the presidency of the Republic, seven of nine state governorships, and a qualified […]

SUMMARY – MORNING PRESIDENTIAL PRESS CONFERENCE – FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2024

junio 21, 2024 |
Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: AMLO hailed the first cabinet appointments made by President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum. He also welcomed Sheinbaum’s decision to create the Ministry of Science, Humanities, Technology, and Innovation; the President said the first of Sheinbaum’s cabinet appointments, including Rogelio Ramírez de la O as Minister of Finance, has generated stability in the financial markets and decreased the volatility of the peso; AMLO emphasized that the rescuing of the Federal Electricity Commission has benefitted the population, since electricity rates have not increased. The CFE now produces 54% of the country’s electric energy requirements.

SUMMARY – MORNING PRESIDENTIAL PRESS CONFERENCE – THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2024

junio 20, 2024 |
Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: AMLO explained that he did not offend former opposition presidential candidate Xóchitl Gálvez, as determined by the Federal Electoral Tribunal, which held him responsible for having incurred in symbolic violence. "There is no proof of that; I didn’t do it out of principle, I don’t offend anyone, least of all a woman", he said; the National Water Commission is implementing 18 priority projects that together involve an investment of over US$5.99 billion. These projects will benefit more than 24.6 million inhabitants and 100,000 hectares of irrigated land; on July 3, the President will deliver a report on the Ayotzinapa case to the parents of the 43 missing youths.