Over two years ago, after the protests led by Andrés Manuel López Obrador against the electoral fraud ebbed, I wrote:
"Surveys are showing some level of political exhaustion among regular people, and some are inclined to give Calderón some time to prove his worth. That group includes people in the leadership of the PRD. Support for López Obrador's Legitimate Presidency has declined slightly. But he is still in campaign and determined as ever. In the last few weeks, he visited a bunch of places in the north, filling theaters and public plazas. Some people reason that the existence of the legitimate presidency is good to keep Calderón's government honest. I think the expectation of Calderón's government being honest under pressure is foolish. I expect it to be even more rapacious and corrupt -- after me the deluge. "Calderón designated hardliners to his security cabinet, 'neoliberals' to the economic cabinet, and corrupt political allies in education and social programs. One of the figures in the economic cabinet (the communications and transportation minister) is Luis Téllez Kuenzler, one of the original promoters of 'neoliberalism' in Mexico, closely linked to former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, and the representative of the Carlyle Group in Mexico. "Perhaps triggered by the coming recession in the U.S. or a catastrophic failure of his invasion of Michoacán, but -- I think -- the chances of Calderón's administration melting down are rather high." (http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/pen-l/2006w50/msg00186.htm) After I wrote these lines, AMLO's popularity continued to decline as wider layers of Mexico's population granted Calderón the benefit of the doubt. In spite of the adversities, including a few defections, as I expected, AMLO persisted in the struggle. If I remember correctly, at the time, I anticipated a milder decline in the U.S. economy, nothing nearly as serious as the ongoing mess, and also an earlier Calderón meltdown that hasn't yet happened. Well, two days ago, the New York Times carried this note reporting a certain revival of AMLO's popularity. I wonder if list members in Mexico could give us their reactions to this, either in English or Spanish. And does anybody know about this reporter (Elisabeth Malkin)? * * * New York Times Economic Decline Lifts the Prospects of a Vocal Populist By ELISABETH MALKIN Published: February 3, 2009 MEXICO CITY — As the year began, the dominant political figure of Mexico's left appeared to be heading swiftly toward irrelevance. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a former presidential candidate, attracted thousands of supporters to a Mexico City rally Jan. 25. But Andrés Manuel López Obrador is not dead yet. Only two years ago, Amlo, as he is known, was the driving force in Mexico's polarized politics. After he narrowly lost the presidency and led months of street protests charging that it had been stolen from him, politics boiled down to one issue: who was for him and who was against. Last year, his hold on public attention began to falter. The public, the news media and many of his supporters had simply moved on, letting the turmoil of the 2006 election fade into history. But there are signs that the efforts of Mr. López Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor, to revive his political career may be gaining traction, as a deepening recession creates opportunities for his brand of economic populism. The question now is whether he can capitalize on that momentum to remake and expand the coalition that brought him to within a hair's breadth of the presidency. At a rally last week in Mexico City's immense central square, the Zócalo, Mr. López Obrador, 55, drew tens of thousands of supporters. Though the crowd paled beside the hundreds of thousands who attended his rallies at the peak of the 2006 presidential campaign, it was significantly larger than that at any of his rallies in the previous year. Unlike his campaign events, it was conducted without the benefit of his party's machinery, which used to truck in supporters from around the country, demonstrating a substantial base of hard-core support. Saying that the economy will only get worse, Mr. López Obrador announced a campaign to press the government to cut wasteful spending, lower consumer prices and taxes, and do more for the poor. "Our movement must continue demanding a change in economic policy, which has demonstrated its failure," he said. "The model must be changed. You cannot put new wine in old bottles." The words clearly resonated with his poor and working-class base. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/world/americas/04mexico.html?pagewanted=all _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
