MEXICO CITY — Two weeks after tens of thousands of Mexicans protested against proposed electoral changes that they say would undermine democracy, Mexico’s president on Sunday marched through the capital along with crowds giant to show public support for his mission.
In the early stages of the 2024 presidential election, supporters of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, some of whom traveled hundreds of miles by bus to the capital, carried Mexican flags, marching bands and even even stuffed toys featuring the president as they flooded the center of the capital, chanting, “It’s an honor to be with Obrador.”
Mexico’s political opposition and some members of civil society spoke out against the march, calling it a show of force by a leader they see as a budding dictator. use of state resources – including healthy program – to maintain his popularity.
The president has denied those accusations, but López Obrador’s influence over many Mexicans was on full display on Sunday.
Some said they were there to show support for a president who has benefited them economically through welfare programs, although little is known about Mr. López’s more specific policy goals Obrador — including controversial election changes he hopes will be ratified.
The overhaul would give the president more control over Mexico’s electoral systems, but while the Mexican Congress began discussing the proposal earlier this month, López Obrador did not have enough votes. to pass.
Opposition members worry that the president will try to push for changes by other means before the end of the year. López Obrador has recently used presidential decrees to adopt some of his more controversial policies.
Sunday’s march was the president’s attempt to show popular support for his overall mandate and efforts to reform the electoral system and increase his power over the governing body. voting monitoring, National Electoral Institute.
It comes two weeks after a march to protect the institute from changes attracted tens of thousands of supporters. That protest was the largest protest march of this presidency.
When Mr. López Obrador addressed the crowd on Sunday afternoon, his speech focused heavily on the welfare programs his government had launched while mainly addressing the increased violence and situation. Worsening security has affected the country since he took office in 2018. About four years after his term in office. the president maintains an approval rating that hovers around 60%, making him one of the more popular leaders in the world.
“Love is rewarded with love,” he said as he stepped onto the stage.
Mr. López Obrador cites the austerity spending program pursued by his government, which has resulted in some government employees having to bring their toilet paper and drinking water to a number of state agencies, according to reports. Staff. “In our government,” he said, “there is no luxury or waste.”
That has freed up more money to funnel into the welfare system, although some independent economists say the programs are not as effective as they were under previous administrations and provide support. regardless of need.
On Sunday, supporters of the president filled the 2.5-mile stretch from the Angel of Independence monument to the Zócalo, the seat of government power, where Lopez Obrador addressed a crowd of supporters later in the day.
Alfredo Ramirez Martínez, 56, a farmer who traveled about 300 miles by bus to Mexico City from Oaxaca state, said he came to support a president who “helps those who need it most.”
But he said he was frustrated with the worsening security situation in his hometown. “That will always be there,” he said.
Critics of Mr. López Obrador say he and his government pressured Mexico’s powerful labor unions to attend Sunday’s march and accused the cities of being run by the ruling party. pressured people to attend, paying for buses to take them to the capital.
Claudio X. González Guajardo, a member of the political opposition who helped organize the protests earlier this month, said: “What the march showed was the fear of the president and the authorities. his: it is the loss of power in the 2024 election.” “I believe we are facing a dictator who seeks to preserve power at all costs, willing to circumvent the Constitution and the law to achieve this.”
Although Mr. González agrees that the president maintains a high rating, he points to the loss of seats in Congress suffered by the ruling party in last year’s election.
The president confirmed that Sunday’s voter turnout was real.
Hundreds of members of Mexico’s giant electricity and construction unions waved both union and ruling party flags. Buses with signs of origin parked across the capital, protesters disembarking as mariachi bands drew crowds toward Zócalo.
Protest marches in recent weeks have highlighted a fractured Mexico, where López Obrador over the past decade has established a political party that has largely dominated the opposition. But the ruling party faces major obstacles ahead of the 2024 presidential election, including a weakening economy.
Mr. López Obrador is constitutionally barred from running for a second term, but is said to be positioning a loyalist of his party as the presidential candidate so he can maintain influence after resigning.
Magdalena Molina García, 62, a homemaker from Mexico City, said she attended Sunday’s march to speak out in support of a president who has given her and her family access to programs social, including a flagship aimed at young Mexicans.
But Molina said she does not support the president’s “no hugs, no shoot” security strategy. Mr. López Obrador used the phrase to describe a more spending tactic to steer youth away from the country’s powerful drug cartels and toward a more meaningful life.
“I would never hug a criminal,” she said. But, she said, “I’m 100% an Obradorista.”
