Mexico City – Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador strove to portray himself as a moderate while formally registering his presidential candidacy Sunday, promising to reduce immigration to the United States and maintain a balanced foreign policy.
Portrayed as a radical or populist by detractors, the former Mexico City mayor has worked to move toward the political center after his once commanding lead in public opinion polls ahead of the July 2 election shrank since late fall.
Calling for “a broad, representative and inclusive citizen’s movement,” Lopez Obrador promised Mexicans “a new economy” but said it wouldn’t be based on ideology.
“Changing the current economic system is indispensable,” he told a cheering crowd of supporters at the Federal Electoral Commission’s headquarters in southern Mexico City, “Not for ideological reasons, but for the common good.” Lopez Obrador said that as president he will work to stem the tide of millions of Mexicans who cross into the United States legally and otherwise in search of higher-paying jobs.
“It’s painful to see thousands of Mexicans risking their lives trying to cross the border,” he said, adding “the objective is that nobody have to abandon the country and their family in order to find work.” He called a U.S. proposal for extending border walls “a disgrace,” but also said that as president he would maintain “a moderate foreign policy.” Lopez Obrador left Mexico City’s mayorship this summer and was unopposed for the nomination of his leftist Democratic Revolution Party. Two smaller parties are also supporting his candidacy.
Rivals Felipe Calderon of President Vicente Fox’s conservative National Action Party and Roberto Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party – which ruled Mexico from 1929 to 2000 – both won primary races to gain their nominations.
Calderon got a significant boost in polls after his primary, pulling almost even with Lopez Obrador and Madrazo.
Both rivals have launched stinging attacks against what they call Lopez Obrador’s “populism,” referring to handout programs he inaugurated while mayor. And Lopez Obrador’s public profile has diminished since he left the mayor’s office.
“I know that our adversaries are betting on fomenting fear,” Lopez Obrador, whose candidacy is also supported by two smaller parties, said Sunday, “and they have gone as far as vulgarities to paint us as a grave risk for political stability.” Seeking to counter those kinds of accusations, the former mayor said the army would be given greater powers to fight drug trafficking and organized crime and noted that “not even our adversaries should worry. Revenge is not my strong suit.” Lopez Obrador had worked to avoid being labeled part of the rising leftist tide in Latin America, citing Chile – a country with left-leaning government but conservative economic polices – as a potential model.
Leftists have won recent presidential elections in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia and other countries in the region, and some have become persistent critics of Washington.
At a recent rally, Lopez Obrador was also careful to say he won’t antagonize Mexico’s business community.
“I want to make this very clear, let it be heard loud and far … we don’t have differences with businessmen … we have differences with corrupt people.” Lopez Obrador’s party has acknowledged that the more conservative north of the country – where Democratic Revolution has traditionally been weak – will be important in winning the presidential race.
And while many Mexicans resent the United States because of perceived mistreatment of migrants, most also feel Mexico would have little to gain by antagonizing its northern neighbor.
