Mexico: President López Obrador is (almost) as popular as Taylor Swift

Memories with the image of the Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador70 years old, They sell like t-shirts at a concert Taylor Swift.

In front of the presidential palace of Mexico, a crowd, mostly Mexican, gathers around a sales stand plush dolls, speakers, earrings, plastic sandals, stickers, hats, mugs, lighters and even coloring books with the face of the very 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 nearly six years.

Now, although he cannot run for re-election in the next presidential election on June 2, the nationalist occupies a more important place than any candidate competing to lead the Mexican government.

López Obrador will be present without even participating in the vote, said Carlos Pérez Ricart, a political analyst at Mexico’s Center for Economic Teaching and Research (CIDE). For better or worse, He has managed to ensure that all national politics revolve around him.

Armando Monter, a supporter of López Obrador for 17 years, opened his souvenir stand three months ago in central Mexico City, selling just a few dolls and key chains.

“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 loved.”

While Claudia Sheinbaum -THE favorite for the presidency and ally of López Obrador– tries to imitate the president, as his closest competitor, Xóchitl Gálvez, tried to do present him as a villain from its lagging position in the polls.

López Obrador has been part of Mexico’s national politics for decades and gained prominence in 2006, when he narrowly lost a presidential election that, he insists, was stolen from him. In 2018 he achieved victory and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) expelled of the presidency.

While facing a series of controversies and high levels of violence in the country under his leadership, López Obrador he is adored by manylike Carmen Andrade, 56, an informal seller in the neighboring state of Morelos.

Andrade traveled three hours by bus to Mexico City on Thursday, just to buy a small $8 doll resembling a caricature of López Obrador for his home. He said it was worth the trip to the capital because he is about to leave office and he wanted something to remember him by.

López Obrador He targeted working-class voters like no other leader. recent Mexico did it and its popularity was aided by the country’s solid economy.

He speaks out and has promoted social programs, raised the minimum wage and proposed extensive pension reforms. In the first four years of its presidency, the Mexican government claimed that 5 million people rose out of poverty.

“He’s my grandfather!… We all love him,” Andrade said, clutching the doll to her chest. “By doing nothing but focusing on the poor and the elderly, he left out all the other presidents. They only thought about themselves.”

Seven out of 10 Mexicans approve

López Obrador ends his presidency with high approval ratings: Nearly seven in ten Mexicans approve of their government. This is in stark contrast to previous governments: his predecessor ended his term with just 20% approval after waves of corruption scandals.

He managed to connect with the working class who felt marginalized, Pérez Ricart said. Talk like them, look like themand this gained him a lot of legitimacy.

Andrade, who had planned to travel another three hours to get home that night, said she would have bought another doll for every room in her house if she had the money.

In the next election, Andrade intends to vote for the favorite Sheinbaum, who he believes will do soand brings the teachings of López Obrador as Morena candidate, the political party of the president.

Among López Obrador’s products at Monter’s booth were a growing number of dolls, magnets and key chains featuring Sheinbaum’s face.

Monter said it I had never seen any president’s merchandise The Mexican to López Obrador. In the last month, he added, more and more customers have asked for souvenirs from Sheinbaum, which is on its way to becoming the first woman to occupy the presidency of Mexico.

Sheinbaum is largely seen as a continuation of López Obrador and leads by a wide margin in recent polls. He formed a close bond with his mentor and appears with him in advertising shorts election campaign and imitates its tone and political platforms.

“A lot of things have changed in these six years,” Sheinbaum said in the official campaign launch, listing dozens of López Obrador’s successes. “I ask you: do you feel the transformation of the country?… Let’s continue like this. Transformation.”

López Obrador He gave his full support to Sheinbaum, to the point that the 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, even though he has said so he will retire from politics.

Not everyone is happy

However, many voters are increasingly dissatisfied with some changes under the leadership of the populist. Cartel violence across the country has reached new extremes, López Obrador he attacked critics and journalists and he did it electoral reforms which, according to one official, 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 seized on the leader’s perceived failures, and presidential candidate Gálvez is focusing much of her presidential campaign on criticizing AMLO.

The opposition to López Obrador López Obrador livessaid Pérez Ricart, CIDE analyst. I don’t know what they will do when López Obrador is no longer in power.

Many of the president’s supporters who plan to vote for Sheinbaum said they have lost some of their enthusiasm for the leader because of the bloodshed and attacks on journalists.

Despite this, Andrade, who was smiling Friday while holding his caricature doll of López Obrador, was quick to defend the politician. “He does what he can and has done the best he can. “There will always be people who judge him,” he said.

As Andrade walked away from the booth full of customers exchanging pesos for pictures of the president, he added, “I’m leaving happy.”