Will Andrés Manuel López Obrador turn Mexico into Venezuela?
During the presidential campaign of the newly elected Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as AMLO, he received numerous misinformed criticisms regarding his economic policies due to his nature of leftist politics. Many accusations consist of AMLO converting Mexico into a country like Venezuela. Such a statement is incorrect due to the different political, and economic trends the two countries have experienced in the last decades.
What happened in Venezuela?
It all started with Hugo Chávez in 1999. When he acquired the position of president, he implemented the socialist ideology of “Chavismo”. It consisted of nationalist socialism in which most industries would be controlled by the government. The oil industry enriched the country while the ruling elite was also enriched. Democracy deteriorated as Chávez’s centralized government by absorbing absolute power. Subsequent to his death in 2013, Nicolás Maduro was the next president. He did not change anything, he continued to modify the constitution to have authoritarian power. He and the elite continued to enrich themselves via state-owned companies while sectors such as health care collapsed, leading to a health crisis with thousands of doctors emigrating from the country with a population living in conditions below poverty and with health needs. Maduro confiscated farmland that was simply acquired by the ruling elite. Other sectors were also affected, education, business’s closure, crime rose, all derived from corruption and absorption of illicit resources thanks to the socialist system. The impact is simple to see through the thousands of people lining up every day to acquire their necessities, as basic as toilet paper. Venezuela is in a severe crisis, the problem continues to grow.
What is the case in Mexico?
On the other side of the coin in Mexico, corruption comes from a different source, privatization. It all started with President Carlos Salinas de Gortari back in 1988. During his six years in office, he and his cabinet were enriched by privatizing multiple industries such as banking and telecommunications. These were sold to acquaintances such as Carlos Slim, who has become one of the richest men on earth. He also modified article 27 to begin the process of privatizing the oil industry. This process began to end with the current president, Enrique Peña Nieto. He has legalized the sale of Mexican land to foreign sellers and begins to make the PEMEX oil industry affordable to private investors, be they Mexican or from other countries. It has also been clear the amount of embezzlement of government funds by the PRI government (his political party) of Peña Nieto which also benefits his cabinet with. All this is supplemented by the ongoing cartel war since 2006 which has demonstrated government affiliation with such organized crime groups.
The 2018 Mexican elections.
In contrast to the other candidates and former presidents, AMLO seeks to re-establish government control of certain key industries in the country. In addition, it seeks to implement economic development programs for the lower-class population to reduce poverty. The result was a dirty campaign for the parties in power. PRI created accusations that AMLO will convert Mexico into Venezuela, but the political and economic tendencies of these countries have been very different, alongside with AMLO’s aims. While it is impossible to say that any kind of corruption and embezzlement of government funds will occur in the López Obrador’s government, their policies will improve the standard of living of many people compared to the other political parties that will continue with their malicious practices while the people receive nothing. AMLO is the only one that offers change. And in the end, his cabinet will probably be enriched by the misery of Mexicans, but at least they will receive government support. AMLO is not going to change the system and enforce his beliefs as Chávez did, he is rather implementing his ideas into the system to try and move Mexico forward. After all, politicians are like diapers, they must be changed frequently and for the same reason.
