In Mexico City’s Zócalo square, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) informed the Mexican people of the progress made thus far in his administration and the challenges the country faces. The following is the full speech by the President of Mexico to the nation

The president celebrated the first anniversary of his electoral victory

Regeneración, 4 de julio del 2019. In Mexico City’s Zócalo square, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) informed the Mexican people of the progress made thus far in his administration and the challenges the country faces. The following is the full speech by the President of Mexico to the nation.

Friends.

Mexicans.

Today is the anniversary of the victory of our movement. It was the victory of an entire people, of our forefathers, from whom we have a commitment to continue in this process of transformation and to live to tell the tale.

It was a victory for the children of Mexico, to whom we have the duty to leave the legacy of a content nation.

That victory is the fruit of the work of many men and women from the countryside and the city who perseveringly embodied the voice for justice; a voice that grew over time until it became the collective and majority will.

Our movement has excelled because it springs from ideals and principles, is governed by them, and does not limit its purpose to a simple change of government, but aims to overcome the corrupt and ruthless regime that previously prevailed.

This is a major challenge, but one that is truly fruitful, to build a new, more just, prosperous, democratic, free, peaceful, fraternal, and sovereign homeland.

Today, exactly 12 months after that collective feat, we are here to reaffirm our commitment not to fail the people of Mexico.

We have come here to offer the people a balance sheet, with absolute adherence to the truth.

What has been achieved in seven months is sufficient to demonstrate that the change of government has not meant more of the same. On the contrary, a profound transformation of public life in Mexico is underway.

On this occasion, in order to explain how we are doing, I am not going to remain on the level of presenting ideas and concepts, but I will get right to the point, to the concrete reality. I have always thought that politics is, among other things, thought and action, but now we are in times of deeds, not words, as the Mexican revolutionary I admire most, General Francisco J. Múgica, said.

I would like to begin by informing you that the Presidency no longer tolerates nor allows corruption.

Nepotism, cronyism, influence peddling, and any other practice of the old regime are prohibited.

The theft of fuel has been reduced by 94 percent; and with that we are going to save 50 billion pesos. The problem of gasoline supply was resolved and, as we have already said, the famous huachicol (massive theft of gasoline-TN) has practically been eliminated.

Corruption and electoral fraud were reclassified as serious crimes.

Tax condonations for the rich and powerful have now been eliminated.

The Presidential Chief of Staff has been eliminated and the 8,000 members of the elite security unit that protected the president have been transferred to National Defense Ministry and many of them now to the National Guard to protect the people. The president is protected by the people.

I continue to travel throughout the country without bodyguards, because I believe that those who fight for justice have nothing to fear.

The Cisen (National Security Center-TN) has also been eliminated and the opponents of our government are not spied on as was previously the case.

The Republican Austerity Law was passed in the Chamber of Deputies. The concept that there can be no rich government when the people are poor will be applied, or to put it more correctly, will continue to be applied.

The public official must be a servant of the nation and will have to get used to living with average means. Being in the government is not for the purpose of getting rich; but to serve the people.

The pension of five million pesos per month for former presidents has been abolished.

There is no longer private medical care or special savings funds for high public officials. With these two measures alone, we have saved 10 billion pesos.

No new motor vehicles have been purchased for public officials. On the contrary, the fleet of vans and luxury cars was sold, and the proceeds were given to two poor municipalities in Oaxaca.

The salaries of high public officials were lowered and those of permanent, non-management personnel and unionized employees were increased.

Nobody earns 700,000 pesos a month anymore, as was the case in previous governments. Now no official can receive more than the President and I reduced my salary to less than half of what former President Peña was earning.

The minimum wage has been increased by 16 percent, something that did not happen in the 36 years of the neoliberal period.

There are 72 airplanes and helicopters that had been used by public offices that are up for sale. The luxurious and extravagant presidential airplane is also being auctioned in California under the supervision of the UN.

Everything confiscated from common and white collar crime is being returned to the population through an agency called the Institute to Return Stolen Goods to the People.

The government’s publicity and advertising spending has been reduced by 50 percent, which represents a savings of four billion pesos.

The consolidated purchase of medicines for the second half of 2019 has been made and savings of 2.70 billion pesos was obtained as a result.

So far in government procurement we have obtained savings of 113 billion pesos.

All government ministers have made their personal asset declarations public and a web page was created for consulting the payroll of all public servants.

There have been no acquisitions of computer equipment, which was an important source of corruption. Only the members of the Expanded Cabinet have personal secretaries.

The positions of advisors and deputy general directors, as well as representatives of the federal government ministries and agencies in the states, have been eliminated.

The Tourism Promotion Council, which handled taxes charged to foreign visitors without honest or transparent practices, has been eliminated. Today, these funds, to the tune of about eight billion pesos, have been allocated to the construction of the Tren Maya railroad, and tourism promotion has been left to the embassies and the corresponding ministry.

Fifty-one offices of ProMexico abroad have also been eliminated. We signed an agreement with the United Nations Office for Project Services, focused on eradicating corruption in bidding for and contracting public work projects.

We have not increased taxes in real terms, and no new taxes have been established.

Public debt has not and will not grow.

Inflation has decreased from 5.3 to 4.3 percent compared to the same period last year.

In the 43 municipalities of the Northern Border Free Zone, the VAT was reduced to eight percent and Income Tax to 20 percent. The minimum wage in that border area was doubled, and today gasoline, diesel, gas, and electricity all cost less. Throughout the country there has been no increase in real terms in the prices of gasoline, diesel, gas, and electricity.

The fall in oil production has now been halted and work is underway in 22 oil fields to extract greater volumes of crude oil and associated gas.

This year, 330 billion pesos will be invested in the production of oil, gas, and electricity. This represents a 50 percent increase over the same period last year.

During the time we have been in office, the peso is the currency that has strengthened the most worldwide in relation to the dollar.

During the first quarter of this year, more than 10 billion dollars in foreign investment entered the country, seven percent more than in the first quarter of last year.

From December to May of this year, international reserves have grown by more than four billion dollars.

Also in May, our countrymen, our living heroes, the Mexican migrants, sent remittances to their families to the tune of 3.20 billion dollars. This is the highest monthly amount in history.

In May, the consumer confidence index stood at 110 points, a level not seen in the past two presidential administrations.

In the same month, supermarkets and department stores reported a 5.4 percent increase in sales.

Relations with the country’s businessmen are good and indispensable. A short while ago we signed an agreement with private sector organizations to enforce the rule of law, fight corruption, and boost economic growth. The Mexican Business Council pledged to invest 32 billion dollars this year. I am also pleased to report that there are businessmen who are present here in this event in the Zócalo. We all have to unite to achieve progress with justice in our country.

In May, exports reached more than 40 billion dollars, a nine percent increase.

During our time in government, the stock market index has increased by three percent. We have been, I would like to reaffirm, respectful of the autonomy of the Banco de México; we have healthy public finances.

Tax collection increased by 4.5 percent compared to last year.

A figure. This year, due to taxpayers’ confidence in the government, one million more tax returns have been filed than last year. The government’s general revenue rose from 2.35 trillion to 2.59 trillion pesos, a growth of one percent in real terms.

Although modestly, the economy is growing; there is no recession. And now, and this is very important, income distribution is less unjust, that is, there is more development and greater social well-being.

The Institute of Health for Well-Being has already been created, which will serve those who do not have social security and health care benefits. All this in order to comply with the commitment and also with the constitutional mandate established in Article 4 to guarantee the people’s right to health-care.

That is why I want to reiterate the commitment to offer medical care and all medicines free of charge to the population that does not have social security and health-care coverage, and to do so soon, very soon. When I speak of all medicines, I am not only thinking about the basic catalogue, I mean all the medications that the people need.

In the first five months of this year, according to the Mexican Social Security Institute, the IMSS, more than 300,000 new jobs have been created. This is without taking into account those created by the Sowing Life, Youth Building the Future programs, the construction of roads with manpower and other programs, which together surpass one million new jobs.

About 7.5 million seniors, 88 percent of the total, have received their pensions of 2,550 pesos every two months, double what they obtained before. And today, this assistance is for everyone, it is universal, so it also benefits pensioners from the ISSSTE, Insurance, National Defense, Navy, Pemex, the Federal Electricity Commission, and other retirees.

Some 610,000 people with disabilities, especially children, also receive a pension of 2,550 pesos and soon this support will be extended to one million beneficiaries.

To the satisfaction of all of us here, those who could not come yet fought for this transformation, it is important for you to know that all poor children in the country with disabilities will receive this pension of 2,550 pesos every two months.

Some 197,000, almost 200,000 children who were in daycare centers are receiving their subsidy of 1,600 pesos, every two months, directly, without intermediaries.

About 3.30 million pre-school, primary, and secondary school students from poor families are also receiving subsidies and an additional three million such scholarships have yet to be allocated.

Scholarships will be allocated to all students on the secondary school level, and thus far, 3.4 million students have received this benefit.

To date, 270,000 university students have also been awarded scholarships, amounting to 2,400 pesos per month. And this program will increase by 30,000 additional scholarships, that is, it contemplates providing 300,000 subsidies to secondary school students.

Do you know how much this involves?

Imagine all the students at the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico); it is the equivalent of 300,000 scholarships for students from low-income families who are studying in higher education.

A total of 10 million students will be receiving scholarships, which will mean an investment of 60 billion pesos this year, something never before seen in the history of Mexico.

All resources provided by the government through social and welfare programs are directly reaching their beneficiaries; from the Federal Treasury to the beneficiaries, without intermediaries. Clientelism and the famous palm greasing and kickbacks, of course, corruption, are over.

What do I say in the public squares when I report on this new method of providing support to the people?

I say: We’re not accepting anything to the tune of “’I’m from the independent organization, whatever it might be called, and give me the money and I will provide it to the people’. No, brother, that’s over.

Some people don’t like this, but they’ll get used to it. There are no more payments for palm greasing and kickbacks.

For some time now, my advisors have been telling me this, people have been telling me this: ‘Sir, if we win, if we win one day and enter the government, don’t send us the assistance through the governments; give the support directly to the people”. And I’m listening to them.

The misnamed educational reform has already been cancelled and we are in discussions with teachers of all the political currents and with parents to improve the quality of teaching at all levels of schooling.

With the new school year slated to start in two months, the School is Ours program will begin. It will consist of delivering the budget, the indispensable budget for the construction, repair of classrooms and maintenance of the country’s public schools, directly, without intermediaries, to the committees of teachers, students, and parents of each school.

Eighty-three free public universities are already operating in poor and marginalized regions of the country, where thus far 7,500 young people are studying and 460 teachers working. There will be 100 universities in the Benito Juarez education system.

The National Council for Science and Technology, the Conacyt, is being reformed and there is also nervousness around this. The Conacyt, is being reformed to orient its research work to the most pressing needs of the people and of the nation, and contrary to what has been reported, 9,000 additional scholarships have been provided to graduate students.

The physical education and sports program was created to promote all sports. Sports are very important, not only for recreation, but for being well, for good health. Sports are preventive medicine; we are going to promote all types of sports with emphasis on boxing, hiking, and do you believe it, baseball.

The opening of the Los Pinos to the people has been a success. What used to be the Official Presidential Residency has so far been visited by 1.5 million people and we have the project headed by artist Gabriel Orozco to convert the three sections of Chapultepec Forest, plus the land where the Army Weapons Factory was located, into an artistic and ecological space with an extension of 800 hectares, which will soon be one of the most important cultural sites in the world. All this with the collaboration and support of the government headed by our mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.

Islas Marías has ceased to be a prison and a project is underway to convert it into an environmental education center for children and young people that will bear the name Muros de Agua, in homage to the great revolutionary writer José Revueltas and his novel with the same title.

The Youth Building the Future program is a reality. To date, more than 600,000 young people who were previously discriminated against and treated like ninis (youth who are not enrolled in school nor are employed-TN) are working as apprentices.

In three more months we will reach one million young people with this program and next year, by 2021 at the latest, no young person will be left out of work or school. Young people will never again be turned away or condemned to oblivion.

To date, 72,000 credits have been provided without interest or paperwork to small businessmen, shopkeepers, artisans, to those who earn a living as best they can.

This program will continue to grow until it benefits one million people, not only because it is necessary to attend to those who are not subject to bank credit or are at the prey of usurers, but because we are convinced, we are convinced that in granting credit to those from below, to small, medium-size enterprises, shops, artisan workshops, supporting them with interest-free credits, the economy can be reactivated from below and with the people.

Some 1.2 million comunero and ejidatario peasant farmers and small landowners have already received support for crop planting, and for the first time ever an equal amount of cash aid will be provided to all those working the country’s sugarcane and coffee fields.

The Diconsa and Liconsa agricultural warehouses and collection centers are now purchasing corn, beans, rice, wheat, and milk from small producers at guaranteed prices. In addition, the nearly 33,000 Diconsa and Liconsa stores and dairy outlets are offering the Basic Food Basket and basic necessities at low prices in the country’s communities and poor neighborhoods. This Basic Basket has already increased from 23 to 40 products.

In 15 days, the delivery of free fertilizer to all producers in the state of Guerrero will conclude.

We are about to decide whether to establish a company to produce fertilizers in Mexico, products that we are currently importing. In order to do so, rigorous cost-benefit analyses are being carried out, because in the purchase of the existing plants, as is public knowledge, there were many and clear acts of corruption.

I am very happy to inform you here today, in the political, economic and cultural heart of Mexico, that due to its enormous ecological, economic, and social importance, the Sowing Life program is functioning very well, is working as it was conceived. Although they said it wasn’t possible, listen carefully, let it be heard far and wide, that already 560,000 hectares of timber and fruit trees have been planted. I have to thank the Army, because to sow these more than 500,000 hectares, millions of plants are needed and these plants are being produced in nurseries of the National Defense Ministry.

Not only does this involve planting more than 500,000 hectares of timber and fruit trees, but through this activity, employment is provided, and 224,000 day laborers are already working. These are permanent, not temporary jobs; 224,000 day laborers who earn 5,000 pesos a month to cultivate their own plots. Next year, the program will top one million hectares and the total number of jobs will reach almost 500,000, involving both male and female workers.

The use of transgenic corn seeds has been banned.

Also, although this is controversial, we must act congruently. We are not going to exploit hydrocarbons with fracking. An agreement was reached to close the Los Cardones mine in Baja California Sur and convert that area into a protected natural reserve.

In February, an agreement was signed with UNESCO to supervise water quality at the thermoelectric plant in Huesca, Morelos, and a popular consultation was held to put it into operation.

This is a project that was implemented in the previous administrations. However, a protest movement arose, the work project was practically finished and there are 100, 200 meters to go to connect it and be able to use the thermoelectric plant.

Around 20 billion pesos have already been invested, which is why the popular consultation was held. The result was that the plant should be used and the investment should not be lost.

However, injunctions and lawsuits are pending, and we do not want to come down heavy on anyone. As President Juarez said, nothing by force, everything through reason and law.

Through the Livestock Paperwork and Interest Free Loan program, 13,600 heifers and 1,000 stallions were delivered to more than 4,000 small producers.

The Fishing Promotion program has benefited 27,000 fishermen who have received financial support to the tune of 7,200 pesos each.

The National Institute of Indigenous Peoples was created.

Social welfare programs on a national level are already reaching three out of every 10 households in Mexico, but in indigenous communities eight out of every 10 families are now receiving the benefits and by the end of the year, all the households of the indigenous communities will be included.

We will fully comply with the criteria of attending to and respecting all Mexicans, but preference will be provided to the humble, to the neediest, because, for the good of all, the poor come first.

The construction of concrete roads in the municipalities of Oaxaca is making progress. This is an extraordinary experience, with 45 roads currently being worked on, this month 50 more projects will be undertaken.

What does this program consist of?

I would like to invite everyone to get to know and to evaluate the program. We deliver the resources directly to the authorities in villages governed by uses and customs. They manage the budget honestly and provide employment to the people of the same villages, no sophisticated machinery is used, picks, shovels, mixers, and the intensive use of labor is employed.

With these small but important work projects, migration is reduced and family and community life is strengthened. This is part of what we want to carry out soon, very soon; of what we want to become a reality, a dream that we want to become a reality. We want Mexicans to be able to work and be content where they were born, where their families, their customs, their cultures are, that whoever wishes to emigrate should do so because they want to, not out of necessity. Migration should be optional, not forced.

The Urban Improvement Program in popular neighborhoods of border cities and tourist centers has resulted in the building or reconstruction of 4,900 homes. Work is now about to begin on introducing water, drainage, pavement, and title deeds – which is very important – and other services in 14 cities around the country.

In the program to attend to earthquake victims, I’d like to report that financial support for housing has been granted to 5,800 families. Schools and health-care clinics are under reconstruction, as well as the restoration of churches and other spaces that are part of the national historical heritage.

The Infonavit housing program has so far restructured 46,000 loans for the benefit of workers who have paid and paid and whose debts have grown instead of decreased. In addition to this program, which will be permanent, it was agreed that those who have paid 90 percent of their loan will have the rest condoned and can receive their title deed immediately.

We have also made a commitment that no one will be evicted from their apartment or home.

Last Friday, the creation of the Social Welfare Bank was approved. The bank will have branches even in the most remote communities of the country.

The Citizen Attention Office of the National Palace attends to an average of 450 people a day.

If you wait for me just a bit, I’m now going to listen and attend to you.

Since I became president I have held 122 informational assemblies and I have gathered the opinions of the people in towns, regions, and states around the country. The most important highway conservation program that has been carried out in recent times is underway.

To this end, 20 billion pesos are being earmarked for the maintenance of more than 40,000 kilometers of roads.

To date, 10 road infrastructure projects have been completed, including four bridges, a stretch of highway, two road expansions, two intersections, and a beltway.

Rural roads and feeder roads are being built with an investment of nine billion pesos.

Here I would also like to highlight, among other projects, the road from Badiraguato, Sinaloa, to Guadalupe and Calvo, Chihuahua; from Tamazula to Canelas, Durango; from Jesús María, Nayarit to Mezquital, Durango; and the road from Tayoltita, Durango, to San Ignacio, Sinaloa, the construction of which is about to begin.

I would also like to emphasize that construction has restarted on highways in which work has been going on for 10 years in Oaxaca, one from the city of Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido and the other from the city of Oaxaca to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

The Emisor Oriente Tunnel will be finished at the end of the month. It took more than 10 years to build and involved a total investment of 30 billion pesos. This project will prevent flooding in a good part of the Valley of Mexico.

The Guadalajara Light Train will also be finished this year and the Toluca-Mexico City Train continues to be built and will be completed.

Reconstruction is underway or about to restart on the Pilares dams in Sonora, the Picachos and Santa Maria dams in Sinaloa, La Libertad in Nuevo Leon, Chihuero in Michoacan, and Zapotillo in Jalisco, among others.

The Program for the Integral Development of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is underway. Work has already begun to expand the port of Salina Cruz, as well as to improve the inter-oceanic railroad tracks and modernize the Minatitlán and Salina Cruz oil refineries.

The modernization of the Acayucan to La Ventosa highway is 80 percent complete.

Oil refineries in Tula, Salamanca, Madero, and Cadereyta are also being rehabilitated.

Construction has already begun on the new Dos Bocas refinery in Paraíso, Tabasco.

At the end of this month, bidding will begin for the construction of the Tren Maya railway.

The construction of Texcoco Airport was cancelled, as you know, because you so decided. Construction was cancelled for technical, economic, environmental reasons and the lack of transparency. The space where the airport was going to be built will become an ecological park and Lake Nabor Carrillo will be recovered, among other actions.

Work on the General Felipe Ángeles Airport at the Santa Lucía Air Base will begin no later than this month. The start of this work project has been delayed; we now have the whole project ready.

The beginning of this work project has been delayed because our adversaries want to stop it with a flood of injunctions, and we are being careful in the authorization of the environmental impact study, so as not to give them any pretext to continue these campaigns of legal sabotage.

The rehabilitation of runways and facilities at the current airport in Mexico City was initiated.

Every day from six o’clock in the morning on, I preside over the meeting of the Security Cabinet to follow up on the problem of crime and criminal activity and advance in achieving peace and the security of the Mexican people.

Torture or any other violation of human rights is not being tolerated.

We are devoting time and resources to the search for those who have disappeared as a result of violence. We will not rest until we know the whereabouts of the young people of Ayotzinapa.

Neither the Army nor the Navy have been used nor will they be used to repress the people.

The war of extermination against so-called organized crime is over. Racism, massacres, and the forced disappearance of people are no longer permitted. The Mexican state has ceased to be the main violator of human rights; instead, jobs and well-being are guaranteed to young people.

Collusion and impunity are being punished, and greater public security for the population is being sought.

The Constitution had been amended and the National Guard had been created to guarantee public security. This new institution began operations yesterday to attend to 150 regions of the country with 70,000 members.

Here in the Zócalo, I would like to thank with all my heart, I would like to thank the soldiers and sailors who have accepted the challenge of guaranteeing public security without violating human rights and with the proper, regulated use of force, for their support and loyalty. Let us not forget: the sailor and the soldier are common people in uniform.

Protection is being provided to 321 journalists and 582 human rights defenders. To date, 45 political prisoners have been released.

The remains of the 63 miners who died at the Pasta de Conchos mine in Coahuila will be recovered.

A government telecommunications company is being created to guarantee internet services to all the towns and villages of Mexico.

The proposal to reform Article 35 of the Constitution and remove all obstacles in holding citizen consultations has been presented to Congress.

Also in the hands of the legislators are the bills that we are presenting for recall referendums and removing the immunity of the president and high level public officials.

From Monday to Friday at seven o’clock in the morning we have held 145 press conferences so far, free and open to all media to guarantee the people’s right to information.

The constitutional autonomy of the Federal Attorney General’s Office was declared. And in this case, as with the other branches of government, I have been respectful of its independence. Furthermore, I believe that Federal Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero is a man of integrity and I have confidence in him as a citizen.

The civil protection system is already in place. The country’s foreign policy adheres to the principles established in Article 89 of the Constitution. I would like to remind you of these principles: the self-determination of peoples, non-intervention, the peaceful settlement of disputes, the outlawing of the threat or use of force in international relations, the legal equality of States, international development cooperation, respect for, protection, and promotion of human rights, and the struggle for international peace and security.

We have established a friendly and respectful relationship with the people and government of the United States. And this approach has allowed us to avoid confrontation, which we do not consider worthwhile for anyone involved.

A few days ago we overcame a possible economic and political crisis through a migration agreement that obliges us to be stricter in the application of the corresponding legislation, without violating human rights and reaffirming, as in all agreements, reaffirming in our favor the recognition that this issue will be dealt with without using force, without using coercive measures, but rather through creating opportunities for work and well-being for people in their places of origin, that is, in the brother countries of Central America and in our own nation.

Yesterday, the G20 meeting concluded in Osaka, Japan. And in the final document of this summit, the member countries adopted our proposal, the Mexican proposal to address migration through cooperation for development.

The trade agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada has already been ratified.

The free expression of ideas, the right to dissent, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press have been guaranteed.

There is something that I would like to reiterate, so that no one is confused:

We are not fighting to install a dictatorship, we are struggling to build an authentic, a true democracy. We are in favor of dialogue, tolerance, diversity, and respect for human rights.

We are currently distributing the Moral Primer written by Alfonso Reyes, because I sincerely believe that transformation means not only achieving material well-being, but also achieving the well-being of the soul, strengthening cultural, moral, and spiritual values.

This year was declared the Year of the Caudillo of the South, Emiliano Zapata.

And the program to rescue historical memory has already begun, because those who do not know where they come from will never know where they are going. We have an extraordinary history that comes from far back and is our inspiration.

We have a universal outlook, but we don’t have to go looking for examples abroad. Our ancestors taught us how to fight for freedom, for justice, for democracy, and for the sovereignty of the nation.

Here in the Zócalo, I just wrote this because it occurred to me, I would like to invite everyone, although it’s a bit away, but as of now, I’d like to invite you to celebrate, as never before, here in the Zócalo, on September 15, the Cry of Independence.

The strategy to promote reading has already been presented, and the Fondo de Cultura Económica is publishing books by great writers at accessible prices.

We drew up a new development plan completely different from those approved in the neoliberal period. The purpose of our plan is to meet the demands of the people, do away with corruption and impunity.

Government policies are no longer subject to prescriptions imposed from abroad, nor are privatizations considered the panacea. In addition, the criterion of separating political power from economic power has been established, and that the government of the Republic, the government represents all Mexicans, not just one faction or a minority.

Friends:

I am about to finish this speech, but we are just beginning with the transformation of Mexico.

I could go on enumerating other actions that have been carried out. I have already taken time doing so, but I feel that what I have described is sufficient. The truth is that we have worked intensely and we are advancing.

Of the commitments I made in this square seven months ago, 78 out of 100 have been fulfilled. Possibly never at the beginning of an administration has so much been done in such a short period of time. However, we have pending issues to address.

For example, there is a need to improve the health-care system. I have already made the proposal, but it needs to be fulfilled.

The economy must post further growth and the same levels of violence that we inherited from the old regime remain with us.

At the same time, I’m sure that soon, very soon, we will obtain more and better results in attending to these and other needs and concerns of our people.

Seven months after the beginning of the administration, I can tell you with full sincerity, that I feel optimistic. I believe, my friends, that this year, by December at the latest, we will finish – some will say it cannot be done, but it can – we will finish uprooting the regime of corruption and in this same year, the foundations for Mexico’s political transformation will be laid.

I confess to you that my activism, my wild passion, has a rational foundation, even if my adversaries feel otherwise. I believe that the faster we complete the transformation, the more time we will have to consolidate it and turn it into a democratic culture, a way of life, and a form of government.

I believe that we must work rapidly and thoroughly, because, if, unfortunately, factional and corrupt conservatism were to return to power – knock on wood – not even in such a circumstance can our adversaries reverse what has been established and already achieved for the benefit of the people.

If we forge a collective consciousness based on love, justice, and honesty, no one can reverse it.

Imagine if the people were to allow corruption to once again be considered a non-serious offense, or if the condonation of tax payments for the wealthy were once again to be tolerated, as it had been for decades; or if the government would once again be a mere committee at the service of a small minority of corrupt politicians and influence peddlers, while the majority of Mexicans would remain impoverished and public misery resurface.

That is why we are going to move rapidly to establish the bases of the transformation for ourselves and for those who will come after us, the new generations.

Friends:

There is no turning back in this process. Not one step back. No hesitation or half-measures. It is one thing to act prudently, to avoid confrontation, and to guarantee freedoms that are sacred, and another very different thing is indecision.

We are authentic, pacifists, and, at the same time transformers. In defending the causes of honesty, justice, and democracy we are not moderates, we are radicals.

In these times, as Melchor Ocampo said, the moderate is simply a more awakened conservative. Let us be ever more faithful to the aspirations and hopes of the people of Mexico for real change.

I would like to thank with all my heart those who have supported us. To all of you, to millions of Mexicans, even to those who do not fully share our ideals and principles and our way of acting and proceeding.

Love for Mexico is above any faction, party, personal or group interest, however legitimate it may be. This was demonstrated recently, when many Mexicans from all social classes and all economic sectors closed ranks in the face of the external threat that affected the coexistence, well-being, and economy of the people and of our nation. Always in moments of adversity and in the face of threats from foreign powers, of hegemonic powers, all Mexicans are going to act together and united.

I am convinced that, because of its abundant natural resources and above all because of the work ethic of our Mexican people, our beloved Mexico will become an economic power with a social dimension and with the moral and cultural greatness that have always been present in its profound essence.

Let us recall the text of the Culhuacán memorial: ‘As long as the world remains, the fame and glory of Mexico-Tenochtitlan will not end’.

Long live the Fourth Transformation of the public life in Mexico!

Long live Mexico!

Long live Mexico!

Traducido por Pedro Gellert  [email protected]