Souvenirs with the image of Mexican President
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
, 70,
are sold like T-shirts at a
Taylor Swift concert.
In front of Mexico's presidential palace, crowds of mainly Mexicans gather around a stall selling
plush dolls, speakers, earrings, plastic sandals, stickers, hats, mugs, lighters and even coloring books
with the very man's face. famous leader.
Populist López Obrador, better known by his initials AMLO, has long had a passionate following but has become a figure of epic proportions in Mexican politics after leading the nation for almost six years.
Now, despite not being eligible to run for re-election in the upcoming presidential election on June 2, the nationalist occupies a more important place than any of the candidates competing for the helm of Mexico's government.
Flip flops of all colors.
Photo: AP
López Obrador is going to be present without even being on the ballot, said Carlos Pérez Ricart, political analyst at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE) of Mexico.
For better or worse,
he has made all national politics revolve around him.
Armando Monter, a López Obrador supporter for 17 years, opened his souvenir stand three months ago in downtown Mexico City, selling only a few dolls and keychains.
"It was really small, but then more and more people became interested," Monter said. "Now we sell practically everything because the president's image is so beloved."
While
Claudia Sheinbaum
—
the presidential favorite and López Obrador's ally
— tries to imitate the president, her closest competitor, Xóchitl Gálvez, has tried to
present him as a villain
from his lagging position in the polls.
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, participates during a press conference.
Photo: EFE
López Obrador has been part of Mexico's national politics
for decades
and gained prominence in 2006 when he narrowly lost the presidential election, which he insists was stolen from him.
In 2018, he achieved victory and
expelled the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)
from the presidency.
Despite facing a series of controversies and
high levels of violence in the country
under his leadership, López Obrador
is adored by many
, such as Carmen Andrade, 56, an informal vendor in the nearby state of Morelos.
Andrade traveled three hours by bus to Mexico City on Thursday, just to buy a small $8 doll with a caricatured appearance of López Obrador for his home.
He said the trip to the capital was worth it because he is leaving office and wanted something to remember him by.
The souvenir stand in front of the Presidential Palace.
Photo: AP
López Obrador
has targeted working-class voters like no other
recent Mexican leader has, and his popularity has been helped by
the country's strong economy.
He speaks candidly and has promoted social programs, increased the minimum wage and proposed extensive pension reforms.
In the first four years of his presidency, the Mexican government said 5 million people were lifted out of poverty.
"He's my grandfather! ... We all love him," Andrade said, cradling the doll to his chest.
"By doing nothing but focusing on the poor and the elderly, he has left out all the other presidents. They only thought about themselves."
Seven out of 10 Mexicans approve
López Obrador closes his presidency
with high approval ratings
: almost seven out of every 10 Mexicans approve of his government.
That's a stark contrast to previous governments: His predecessor ended her term with just 20% approval after waves of corruption scandals.
López Obrador keychains.
Photo: AP
He has been able to connect with the working class who felt marginalized, Pérez Ricart said.
She talks like them, she looks like them
, and that has earned her a lot of legitimacy.
Andrade, who planned to travel another three hours home that night, said she would have bought another doll for each room in her house if she had the money.
In the next elections, Andrade plans to vote for the favorite Sheinbaum, who he said
carries the teachings of López Obrador as a candidate for Morena,
the president's political party.
Among the López Obrador merchandise at Monter's booth were a growing number of dolls, magnets and keychains with Sheinbaum's face.
Dolls of López Obrador and his candidate Claudia Sheinbaum for sale in the middle of the electoral campaign.
Photo: AP
Monter said
he had never seen merchandise from any
Mexican president until López Obrador.
Over the past month, she added, more and more customers have asked for souvenirs from Sheinbaum, who is on track to become
the first woman president of Mexico.
Sheinbaum is largely seen as a continuation of López Obrador and leads recent polls by a wide margin.
She has become closely linked to his mentor and
appears alongside him in
campaign shorts and imitates his tone and political platforms.
"A lot has changed in these six years," Sheinbaum said in his official campaign launch, listing dozens of López Obrador's achievements.
"I ask you, do you feel the transformation in the country? ... Let's continue with that. Transformation."
"AMLO, the most cool president" (most cool).
Photo: AP
López Obrador
has given his full support to Sheinbaum,
to the point that electoral authorities asked the president to refrain from commenting on the elections.
What remains to be seen is whether he will continue to hold power in the incoming government if Sheinbaum wins, although he has said
he will retire from politics.
Not everyone is happy
Still, many voters are
increasingly dissatisfied with some changes
under the populist's leadership.
Cartel violence
across the country has reached new extremes, with López Obrador
attacking critics and journalists
and carrying out
electoral reforms
that one official says could end up poisoning democracy itself.
Last month, tens of thousands of Mexicans took to the streets to criticize the president in what they called a “march for democracy.”
Opposition parties have latched onto the leader's perceived failures, and presidential candidate Gálvez is focusing much of her presidential campaign on criticizing AMLO.
A person buys souvenirs at the stall in front of the government house.
Photo: AP
The opposition to López Obrador
lives off López Obrador
, said Pérez Ricart, the CIDE analyst.
I don't know what they are going to do when López Obrador is no longer in power.
Many supporters of the president who plan to vote for Sheinbaum said they have lost some of their enthusiasm for the leader because of the
bloodshed and his attacks on journalists.
Despite this, Andrade, who smiled while holding his caricatured López Obrador doll on Friday, was quick to defend the politician.
“He does what he can and he has done the best he can.
“There are always going to be people who judge him,” he said.
As Andrade walked away from the booth packed with customers exchanging pesos for images of the president, he added: "I'm leaving happy."