A promise to fight ‘the mafia of power’ puts Mexico’s Corbyn on course to become president
Andrés Manuel López Obrador strode on to the stage to the sounds of a song promising a world of Left-wing harmony. Raising the roof of the 87,000-seater Estadio Azteca, site of two World Cup finals, the feverish crowd chanted: “It’s an honour to be with López Obrador”, as scantily clad salsa dancers swayed, and Belinda, Mexico’s biggest pop star, gyrated with mariachi musicians.
“We will make history,” the Mexican politician bellowed, describing himself in his speech as a revolutionary, in the canon of Mexico’s great leaders.
His message of combating “the mafia of power” seems to be
‘Every day he announced in the press what he’d do that day, and he did it … AMLO has a plan. I trust him’
resonating. Tomorrow, if polls are correct, Mr López Obrador is on course to be elected the next president of Mexico.
His rivals, Ricardo Anaya from the Right-wing National Action Party (PAN) and José Antonio Meade of the ruling Industrial Revolution Party (PRI), have struggled to gain traction. Mr Anaya is a 39-year-old lawyer and MP with no governing experience, and Mr Meade, 49, an experienced political operative, represents the deeply unpopular ruling party.
On the pitch where Diego Maradona scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal, Mr López Obrador’s offer was decidedly more down to earth: food subsidies for the poor, doubling pensions for the elderly, and reviving Mexico’s farming and industrial sectors.
“Becarios si, sicarios no,” he yelled – yes to scholarships, no to hit men – in reference to his pledge to attack the poverty and lack of opportunity that pushes thousands of Mexico’s youth to work for the drug cartels.
“I’m the oldest candidate, but young people, with their imagination, rebellious spirit and talent, know that we represent the new, the modern, forged from below, and for all,” he read from his script.
His old pal Jeremy Corbyn could not have said it better. The two men are friends and allies: when the Labour leader travelled to Mexico for his Christmas break in 2016, he spent part of it with Mr López Obrador and his wife in his home state of Tabasco. Mr López Obrador captioned the photo of them: “We talked about a global government of justice and fraternity.”
They met again in London in September, and the pair have a lifetime of shared interests in Left-wing activism, union movements and pacifist groups – combined with immense pride in their no-frills existence. Mr Corbyn, 68, cycles from his small Islington house; Mr López Obrador, 64, drives an ancient Nissan, and on the campaign trail flew in economy class. He shuns security, and lives in a distant suburb of Mexico City – a home he plans to maintain, turning the presidential palace into a cultural centre open to the public.
Both men have been accused of wanting to turn their countries into Venezuela; both have laughed off what they claim is absurd fearmongering.
But Mr López Obrador, like Mr Corbyn, has mellowed his ways and his politics, says John Ackerman, a journalist and long-term friend and adviser to the candidate, who welcomed Mr Corbyn to Mexico on his most recent visit, in January. Mr López Obrador is taking his third tilt at the presidency, having lost by less than a percentage point to Felipe Calderón in 2006, and again to Enrique Peña Nieto in 2012. When he lost in 2006, his supporters took to the streets of the capital for two months, causing gridlock for which his critics have never forgiven him.
Mr Corbyn gave a speech in London at the time proclaiming him the legitimate president.
Ivan Pliego, a politics professor who was a witness at Mr Corbyn’s February 2012 wedding to Laura Alvarez, a Mexican human rights activist, in a hacienda on the outskirts of Mexico City, says there are “a lot of similarities in their political projects”.
Perhaps the most significant difference is that, whereas Mr Corbyn became Labour’s top man seemingly by accident, Mr López Obrador, a true political leader, has yearned for this for the past four decades.
Born to shopkeeper parents in the lush and languid small town of Tepetitán in the southern state of Tabasco, Mr López Obrador has been a household name for decades.
From 2000-2005 he was mayor of Mexico City, and known by everyone as either AMLO, from his initials, or by his nickname “El Peje,” for pejelagarto, a fish from his home state.
Indeed, voters under 40 years old have practically grown up with him, which is remarkable considering that he has not held any elected public office since 2005. Now it seems that Mexicans are finally ready to give him a chance.
His promises are vague, and he frequently floats a suggestion, only to drop it the next day. He vows not to raise taxes, and yet when asked how he will pay for his programmes, only says that reducing corruption will mean the coffers are filled.
Yet despite this, Mexicans, exhausted by a stream of corruption cases and a surge in drug violence, are still likely to elect him as their president.
More than 100 candidates or operatives at the local or regional level have been killed in this election, coinciding with the most violent year in Mexican history.
Daniel Hernandez, a 43-year-old electrician, walking into the stadium with his wife, said: “We know him here in Mexico City, and we like what he did. He built a new line for the metro and helped the old people. Every day he announced in the press what he’d do that day, and he did it.
“He won’t change Mexico overnight, but AMLO has a plan. I trust him.”
Mr López Obrador’s team like the idea of him classed alongside Bernie Sanders, Mr Corbyn, and Pepe Mujica, Uruguay’s famously austere, Beetledriving former president.
They are quick to reject any suggestion that his success is in response to Donald Trump – or that the Mexican is in any way similar to the leader of their northern neighbour.
Yet both have a fondness for nicknames for their opponents – Mr López Obrador labelled Mr Anaya “Ricky the Scoundrel” – for nationalist rabble-rousing, promising to put their country first.
Mr López Obrador has charted a carefully non-confrontational course during the campaign, vowing to work with Mr Trump with respect, for the benefit of both their countries – but not be pushed around.
“I’m going to vote for him,” said Myriam Rodriguez, 22, selling AMLO face masks outside the stadium – beside masks of Ricky Martin and an assortment of Mexican footballers. “We just need a change. All the others are corrupt.”
Mr Corbyn’s spokesman declined to offer any words of encouragement to his friend, when asked by The Daily Telegraph. But Mr López Obrador knows he will be rooting for him – and is hoping to one day repay the favour.
Last year in London Mr López Obrador told a Mexican television reporter he was backing the Briton all the way. “I hope Jeremy becomes prime minister,” he said.