Mexico’s ‘common man’ president pledges end to secrecy, luxury
MEXICO CITY—Mexico’s newly inaugurated president kicked off his first Monday in office with something not seen in recent history—a news conference and a pledge to hold one every working day of his six-year term to keep the people informed.
Two days after taking the oath as the first leftist president in decades of technocrats, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador made good on his promise to govern as a common man and end decades of secrecy, heavy security and luxury enjoyed by past presidents.
His workday began at 7 a.m. with a gathering of more than 100 reporters, photographers and TV cameramen all trained on the new leader, his gray hair slightly ruffled as he answered questions.
“Isn’t that a change that I am here, informing you?” Lopez Obrador asked. While past presidents have rarely held news conferences, Lopez Obrador promised to do so on a near-daily basis, much as he did when he was mayor of Mexico City from 2000-2005.
“He didn’t hit the ground running, he hit the ground flying,” said Federico Estevez, a political science professor at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, who was impressed by the president’s ability to improvise and speak for hours on end without using a teleprompter.
Estevez compared Lopez Obrador’s start to the early days of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, minus the fireside chats. “It’s very similar. And (Lopez Obrador) is going to build his party into a generational force, and the opposition is going to remain a minority for God knows how long.”