LatinNews Daily - 11 August 2020 |
MEXICO: López Obrador accused of diversionary tactics |
On 10 August Mexico’s former president, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa (2006-2012), accused President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of seeking to distract public attention from his government’s failings in the face of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic by accusing him of having led a narco-state. Analysis: Calderón’s accusations point to a growing political confrontation that looks set to dominate next year’s mid-term federal legislative elections. The growing public perception that the López Obrador administration has mishandled the pandemic has increased the chances that the ruling Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena) party could lose its comfortable congressional majority in the polls. It provides ample ammunition for the political opposition to attack the government and Morena. López Obrador seems to be to pre-empting this by accusing Calderón and his previous Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) administration of colluding with organised crime. But in Calderón, Lopez Obrador appears to have found a formidable political foe.
Looking Ahead: While Calderón is in the process of registering his new México Libre party in order to take part in next year’s polls, the movement is already seen as the main electoral threat to Morena and López Obrador. |