Welcome back! As we enter the last month of a hideous 2020, Mexico’s President is celebrating his second anniversary in office. Some of you may be wondering, what is he really celebrating? We’ll explain it all in this week’s edition, plus Elon Musk’s mini feud with the Mexican government.
It’s (not) the economy, stupid!
AMLO is still popular, even after two crises
Bloomberg / Reuters
On December 1st, AMLO celebrated his second anniversary as president of Mexico, and what a ride it has been. At the press conference he held to commemorate the day, the President delivered a speech about his government’s accomplishments, such as the two historic minimum wage increases, adding social welfare programs to the Constitution, and newly announced tax-reductions in the southern border region.
He also mentioned some of his pending campaign promises, out of the 100 he set out with he only claims to have three left: the decentralization of federal agencies (AKA moving Ministry offices outside Mexico City), promoting renewable energies, and discovering the truth behind the disappearance of 43 students from Ayotzinapa, Guerrero. Additionally, he recognized that in 2020, violent acts, such as femicides, homicides and extortions have surged.
So... do people still like him? To the surprise of many, especially the upper class, yes! As of late November, President López Obrador’s approval rating is above 60%. How good is that? His predecessors, Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018) and Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) had a 39% and 64%, approval ratings, respectively, after two years in office - but they weren’t dealing with a global pandemic.
Why is his approval rating so high? Some have pointed to his very active communication strategy, that mostly relies on giving a daily press conference (the Mañanera) - he has delivered over 500 so far. Others say that he has expanded his government’s federal programs to a great extent; however, his own austerity measures have scraped some of them. But, contrary to his predecessors, he “faces” a very weak opposition - to be fair, he has also held numerous press conferences solely on past acts of corruption. And even if some may highlight his poor handling of the pandemic, people on both sides of the aisle have recognised how extraordinarily difficult the current crisis has been.
As the June 2021 midterm elections approach, AMLO will likely push harder in providing his social welfare programs in order to lock down the lower and middle class votes that he gained in the presidential elections three years ago. Courting the business sector will not be on his to do list this year - evidence of this is the exit of his Chief of Staff, Alfonso Romo, a businessman himself who was a key liaison between AMLO and the business world in the last election.
🇫🇷 French restaurateur murdered in Mexico City “while delivering fine wine”
… some don’t believe the government’s official story
Last Saturday, French-Mexican restaurateur, Baptiste Jacques Daniel Lormand, was found dead with his Mexican business partner, Luis Orozco, in Mexico City. At a press conference, Mexico City’s police chief, Omar García Harfuch, claimed that the victims had traveled from the upscale neighborhood of Polanco to the southern borough of Tlalpan, where they were killed by thieves over bottles of wine worth more than $20,000 USD - he denied that this incident was part of organized crime activities.
However, not everyone believed the story. As restaurant owners, including those in Polanco, have been victims of extortion, or what is known in Mexico as “cobro de piso”, the crimes committed are probably not isolated acts. As of Thursday morning, authorities have arrested the presumptive murderer of the two victims Le Parisien / Newsweek
🏥 WHO tells Mexico to get its shit together on coronavirus... AMLO responds
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that Mexico is in “bad shape” regarding its fight against coronavirus, and asked that the country take it more seriously… When asked about this, Hugo López-Gatell, the man in charge of the covid-19 task force, simply said that the message was not directed to him nor the President. AMLO then, (no kidding)said that the use of face masks is not necessary.
On a more positive note, the government has signed a deal with Pfizer for 34.4 million doses of the vaccine. The President will unveil his government’s vaccination strategy next Tuesday. Reuters
⛪ TikTok + Cartel = Guilty pleasure for some ?
Increasingly sophisticated cartel social media experts are using the platform to show off their dangerous and glamorous lifestyles (you know.. cash, cars, women, and exotic animals). The aim is to draw in young men for a chance at glory and it seems to be working... However, some are watching for very different reasons. Like, Mr. Angeles, a California teenager whose parents emigrated from Mexico, likes to imagine his life if he was born in Mexico. “I could’ve been in that lifestyle, but I would much rather be broke and nameless than rich and famous.” The New York Times
🤭 How Mexico told Elon Musk and his Teslaquila to F#ck off
The Rock and George Clooney both own their own Tequila brands (Teremana Tequila and Casamigo Tequila, respectively). So, Elon Musk must have felt left out because he just tried to join the cool kids club with his own brand called Teslaquila, but got shut down hard by the Mexican government. What was the issue? Mexico’s Tequila Regulatory Council, deemed the name too similar to Tequila, which is exclusively for the tequila agribusiness. Ultimately, Elon got what he wanted, as they just ended up calling the product, “Tesla Tequila”. The Verge
🇬🇧 The Guardian arrives to Mexico
British newspaper, The Guardian, will launch its Mexican Spanish-language version under the name La Lista. The mysterious arrival has still not been confirmed by the media outlet itself, but according to sources, its Mexican sibling will make its debut January 4, 2021. As exciting as this sounds, it will definitely be a challenge. Just last year, The New York Times closed its Spanish-language edition for not being profitable enough. Story Baker
What else we’ve been reading:
📚 Which Mexican author made The New Yorker's Top 2020 Book List?
🇻🇦 Pope appoints homophobic cardinal in Mexico, who thinks being gay is a ‘contagion’
Two years ago, AMLO promised that by today, Mexico's health system would be like Denmark's
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¡Ay Nanita!: How scary!
AMLO’s quote: When newspapers like Reforma, El Universal and many more start applauding, that’s when you should start worrying.
Some context: AMLO was criticizing (for the millionth time) media outlets that are critical of him