Mexico's leftwing frontrunner laughs off Russia jibes and says: I'm no Moscow stooge

As the presidential election nears, Andrés Manuel López Obrador – known as Amlo – has been forced to deny claims of Russian support

David Agren
@el_reportero
Sat 20 Jan 2018 03.00 EST Last modified on Sat 20 Jan 2018 05.15 EST

It could be a scene from a John Le Carré novel: under a leaden sky, a grey-haired man in an overcoat looks out to sea and chuckles quietly at the prospect of a Russian submarine bearing a shipment of gold.

But the image came in a video this week by the leftwing frontrunner in Mexico’s presidential election, as he laughed off claims that he is receiving covert support from Moscow.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a populist former mayor of Mexico City, has become the focus of escalating – if unsubstantiated – allegations of Russian interference in the 1 July election.

In December, the US national security adviser HR McMaster said there had been “initial signs” of Russian meddling in Mexico. He offered no details, but the ruling PRI has made such claims a central plank of its campaign against López Obrador, popularly known as Amlo.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/20/mexico-leftwing-andres-manuel-lopez-obrador