The magazine 'The Economist' points to López Obrador as a "danger to democracy"

Illustration with the image of the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on the cover of 'The Economist' magazine.

Shortly after Andrés Manuel López Obrador concluded his daily morning message, another almost as powerful was directed against him on social networks. The English magazine

The Economist

showed a preview of its next issue, which goes on sale this Friday, in which it harshly criticizes the President's government. The illustration on the cover alone describes what the article later reveals: the imposing face of the president, on a body of military personnel, the logo of the state oil company Pemex and a finger pointing directly at him: he is portrayed as an authoritarian leader , a "false messiah", which reads the headline. In the first paragraph he warns: "It is a danger to democracy." And he asks Mexicans not to vote for his party, Morena, in the next elections on June 6.

The article mentions López Obrador's ability to distance himself from criticism of other populist and authoritarian leaders in the world.

He gives as examples Viktor Orbán, from Hungary, Narendra Modi, from India, and Jair Bolsonaro, from Brazil.

But they emphasize that he, unlike them, "does not make fun of homosexuals, does not beat Muslims or incite his supporters to set the Amazon on fire."

"He often speaks in the voice of the poor of Mexico and is not corrupt," says the text.

Although he directly accuses him of polarizing Mexican society: “He divides Mexicans into two groups: the people, which refers to those who support him;

and the elite, whom he denounces, often by name, as criminals and traitors whom he blames for all the problems in Mexico. "

More information

• López Obrador seeks to revive Mexico's oil dream: "It's the best business in the world"

• Morena's wear and tear and the government's clash with the Judiciary mark the last stretch of the campaign

The Economist

editorial

it goes a step beyond criticizing the president: he asks not to vote for his party in the next elections on June 6. “The president's disregard for democratic rules is one of the reasons the June 6 elections are important. It is not on the ballot; His only six-year term expires in 2024. But the national legislature is at stake, as are 15 of the 32 governorships, most state assemblies and thousands of local seats. Voters have the opportunity to stop their president by rejecting his party, Morena, ”the article reads. "The more levers he controls, the further López Obrador can follow his plan to transform Mexico," he warns, although he acknowledges that his popularity is around 61%, one of the highest for a president in the world.

The blows to the Government range from the reform of the Hydrocarbons Law - "prohibiting investment and forcing the network to buy energy from state sources first, no matter how expensive and polluting they are" -, their attacks on the National Electoral Institute, to the omnimous control of the Army to build the Mayan Train, manage ports and fight crime: “In other countries, inviting the military to handle huge sums of public money with little supervision has been catastrophic, as any Egyptian or Pakistani could warn you. But López Obrador is known for not listening to advice ”, adds the magazine. He also criticizes his slow response to the coronavirus crisis,placing Mexico as one of the countries with the highest number of deaths in the world and warns of investors' caution in the face of “presidential whims”.

And he concludes with a controversial appeal to the polls: “The next three years will determine the depth and duration of the damage it does to Mexico and its democracy. He is prohibited from seeking reelection, but is illegally trying to extend the term of a loyal Supreme Court justice. Critics fear that he wants to set a precedent for himself. Mexico's institutions are strong, but they can give in to the sustained assault of a fanatic with popular support. The country escaped the de facto one-party government in 2000. Given the risk, June 6 voters must support the opposition party best positioned to win, wherever they live. The opposition parties should work together to stop the president. "

The harsh cover of the magazine and the more than 1,000 words that call to oppose Morena in the middle of the final stretch of the campaign have irritated the president's followers. The head of the Digital Public Innovation Agency of the capital and part of the team of the Head of Government, Claudia Sheinbaum (from the same party as the president and a possible presidential candidate), has come out to remove López Obrador: “There is no line of this editorial that is not rebuttable.

The Economist

has always been a peculiar mix of analysis and elitism. And the popular will has always been a threat to "democracy" that excludes many and serves the economic interests of the few, "he denounced on his Twitter account.

There is not a line in this editorial that is not rebuttable.

The Economist has always been a peculiar mix of analysis and elitism.

And the popular will has always been a threat to "democracy" that excludes the many and serves the economic interests of the few.

https://t.co/bFsa2E27x1

- José Merino (@TitularADIP) May 27, 2021

The political war that

The Economist

has started

in the networks has deepened the deep polarization that has divided the country since the president's inauguration. His enemies have taken advantage of the editorial paragraphs to support what they have denounced for years and that now legitimizes, according to them, the foreign publication. The followers of López Obrador remain firm in the discourse of foreign interference and nationalism.

Many of the president's supporters have highlighted how in 2012, with the inauguration of Enrique Peña Nieto (PRI), his cover and editorial pointed to the "take off of Mexico." A promised promotion that broke before the end of his government, with some of his high-ranking officials being investigated these days for corruption. This is how the president of the Public Broadcasting System, Jenaro Villamil, reacted: “A conservative weekly with a conservative vision is congruent with those who are angry because the great“ development ”of Mexico (promotional of The Economist in the Peñista era) ended in the mud corruption ”, referring to the article from that year compared to this Friday.

A conservative weekly with a conservative vision is congruent with those who are furious because the great "development" of Mexico (promotional of @TheEconomist in the Peñista era) ended in the mud of corruption.

pic.twitter.com/1WRFOk7K7n

- Jenaro Villamil (@jenarovillamil) May 27, 2021

López Obrador has not responded directly to the controversial editorial of the magazine, nor have some of its most prominent members of the Cabinet, such as the Foreign Minister, Marcelo Ebrard.

The coup of the magazine has appeased this Thursday the power of the president's morning message.

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