Leftist leader on the border of the USA: Who is Manuel López Obrador?

Due to his disappointment with the PRI, he left this party in 1986 and joined the Democratic Current movement. This movement later formed the left-wing Democratic Revolution Party (PRD).

He was elected mayor of Mexico City from the PRD in 2000.

Obrador's administration in the city received support from the residents of the city, with projects such as welfare programs for the elderly and the support of businessman Carlos Slim, who has investments in telecommunications, in the restoration of Mexico City's central market.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador (born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mexico City from 2000 to 2005.

He succeeded on his third try.

Obrador, who ran in the presidential elections in 2006 and 2012, won his third try.

Obrador, who founded the left-wing National Renewal Movement Party (Morena) in 2014, participated in the elections as the candidate of the three-party alliance led by Morena.

His opponents said his leftist views risked turning the country into Venezuela.

They claimed that he had an authoritarian mentality and would follow in the footsteps of former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez in steering the country's economy.

Obrador, on the other hand, rejected these comparisons and stated that he would not make nationalizations in the economy and would not run for a second time after completing his duty.

However, he said that Mexico's state-owned oil company, Pemex, would check deals with private companies for corruption.

Obrador promised to implement economic growth, employment, and social development programs.

The promise to end the drug wars

Defining himself as a candidate against the established political order during the elections, Obrador says that the right-wing parties that have been ruling the country for years are the "power mafia".

The left-wing leader, who has fierce arguments with business leaders and accuses them of "acting like they own Mexico", also promises to end the war with the drug cartels and bring peace to the country.

Referendum

Obrador, who won the 2018 elections as a candidate from the social democratic National Renewal Movement he was the founder of, promised in the election campaign that he would hold a referendum within two years to reconsider the presidency by the people if he came to power.

It was the first time such a referendum was held in Mexico. For this, necessary changes were made in the constitution of the country in 2019, and the referendum was planned to be held in 2021. However, due to the prolongation of some legal processes, the referendum was postponed to 2022.

In the referendum, the public would decide whether Obrador should remain in office until the elections in 2024.

According to the Mexican Constitution, heads of state can only serve one term.

Opponents described the referendum decision as a "populist move" by the Mexican President to stay in power again in 2024.

April 2022

The referendum received 90 percent support.

The National Electoral Institute (INE) stated that 90.3 percent of the voters voted in favor of Lopez Obrador in the referendum, where the turnout was low, and reported that it approved the President to remain in office until the elections in 2024.

7.8 percent of those who went to the polls expressed a negative opinion and asked Lopez Obrador to resign.

It is not legally binding since the turnout rate of the referendum, which the public is indifferent to, is below 20 percent.

The opposition, on the other hand, announced yesterday that it would not go to the polls, arguing that the referendum was unnecessary and costly.