The Trump Factor in the Mexican Election

El Gabfest en Español discusses how an anti-establishment mood—and a certain U.S. president—are benefiting a veteran leftist candidate in Mexico’s election.
By LEÓN KRAUZE , FERNANDO PIZARRO , JANET RODRIGUEZ , and PAULINA VELASCO

APRIL 10, 20182:45 PM

Campaigning for Mexico’s upcoming presidential election, on July 1, has officially begun. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the left-wing candidate and former mayor of Mexico City is the clear front-runner with an 18 percentage point lead. The two candidates from the mainstream parties that have dominated Mexico for decades., José Antonio Meade of the ruling PRI party and Ricardo Anaya of the opposition PAN have had difficulty gaining traction with voters in an anti-establishment mood.

A longtime fixture in Mexican politics—this is the third time he’s running—AMLO, as he’s known, has benefited from growing tensions with the United States under President Donald Trump, which have only grown more acute since Trump ordered troops to the border and began raising fears of a “caravan” of migrants passing through Mexico. In contrast to Mexico’s recent presidents—including the current one, the dismally unpopular Enrique Peña Nieto—who have defended NAFTA and security cooperation with Washington, he has pledged to take a harder line with the U.S.

López Obrador’s rivals paint him as a left-wing potential authoritarian in the mold of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, but this time around, running under a newly formed party, he has taken steps to portray himself as a more moderate figure.

Slate’s Spanish-language political podcast, El Gabfest en Español, recently spoke with Carlos Bravo Regidor, director of Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas in Mexico City and a perspicacious observer of Mexican politics and Mexican–U.S. relations. In the following excerpt from their conversation, which has been translated from Spanish and edited for length and clarity, Bravo Regidor speaks with host Leon Krauze and panelists Janet Rodriguez and Fernando Pizarro about the state of the election and AMLO’s prospects.

More:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/04/amlo-why-a-veteran-leftist-challenger-is-crushing-the-competition-in-mexicos-election.html