Andrés Manuel López Obrador is America’s worst nightmare
If the candidate better known as AMLO wins Mexico’s July 1 presidential election, we are in big trouble.
Obrador’s populist agenda worries economic experts at home and abroad. They paint him as a Hugo Chávez-style authoritarian “tropical messiah” who could turn Mexico into another Venezuela.
He wants to:
Make Mexico self-sufficient on staples like corn, beans and beef, which would hurt American farmers and cattle ranchers. In 2017, U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico reached $18.6 billion, including other products such as soybeans, dairy, pork and beef, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Propose a referendum on energy reform and has hinted at possibly canceling oil contracts with foreign companies. Financial markets tumbled, for instance, after he threatened to halt a landmark energy reform and end a $13.3 billion airport project, noted Marco Lopez, a Phoenix-based expert on the Mexican political and business sector.
Cut wages for high-ranking officials while increasing those of low-income workers.
Offer amnesty for criminals whose drug war has left more than 100,000 dead since 2006.
Eliminate college admission exams and provide scholarships to all low-income students, as well as double senior citizens and retiree pensions.
And if a President Obrador fails, as experts predict, that could mean only one thing: A wave of Mexicans heading north to cross to the United States – with or without Trump’s border wall.
ND