Mexican president masses supporters with eye on next election

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador led huge crowds of supporters on a march through the capital Sunday in a show of political strength by the left-wing populist.

Lopez Obrador “has done what no other president has done for the poor,” said Ramon Suarez, a 33-year-old electrician.

Lopez Obrador, who enjoys an approval rating of nearly 60 percent, owes much of his popularity to his social welfare programs aimed at helping the elderly and disadvantaged Mexicans.

Mexican presidents are barred from serving more than one term, and Lopez Obrador again ruled out trying to change the constitution to stay in office.

At the same time, Lopez Obrador is keen to see his Morena party hold onto power after he stands aside.

Lopez Obrador knows “that in order for him to win elections, he needs oiled machinery that works all the time,” said Gustavo Lopez, a political scientist at Tecnologico de Monterrey, a Mexican university.

Lopez Obrador alleges that the INE endorsed fraud when he ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2006 and 2012, before winning in 2018.