“I am leaving satisfied,” said the charismatic Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrado, on Monday during his 1438e – and last – daily press conference, on the eve of handing over power to the first elected female president in the country’s history, Claudia Sheinbaum.
“I am leaving very happy, also because tomorrow I am going to give the presidential sash to an exceptional woman,” declared the left-wing president during his last “mananera”, his morning meeting five times a week with the country.
At midday on Tuesday, he will have lunch with several other left-wing presidents from the region already present in Mexico for the inauguration, including the Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The latter pleaded Monday for a rapprochement of the two largest economies in Latin America, even if Mexico mainly exports to the United States and Brazil to China.
The one who installed the left at the top of the state is leaving power with a record popularity of nearly 70%, after holding 1,438 daily press conferences, according to his spokesperson.
Music and portrait
Reduction of inequalities, increase in wages, stability of exchange rates, improvement of tax revenues: in front of a hundred journalists, the left-nationalist president took stock of what he considers to be the economic successes of his mandate despite a strong recession during the pandemic.
He noted in particular that Mexico was now at 12e place in the ranking of world economies in terms of GDP after overtaking Spain and South Korea. “To no longer have any complexes,” he quipped, sparking some laughter among the journalists.
Despite their intense historical, political, economic and cultural relations, Mexico and Spain are going through a crisis on the eve of Ms. Sheinbaum’s inauguration.
Spain boycotted the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday, deeming it “unacceptable” that Mexico had not invited King Felipe VI.
The power in place criticizes him for not having responded to a letter from Mr. Lopez Obrador in 2019 asking him to recognize the “damage” caused by the Conquest of Mexico from the 16the century.
After an hour of presentation, Mr. Lopez Obrador began to address security issues. Nearly 200,000 people were murdered during his term. The outgoing leader reiterated that the trend in homicides was down 19% between 2018 and 2024.
Mr. Lopez Obrador promulgated two constitutional reforms during his last press conference: one allowing the passage of the National Guard under the control of the Ministry of Defense, the other recognizing the rights of indigenous people and Afro-descendants.
The Mexican president’s latest press conference closed with a mini-concert by a traditional “jarocho” music group from the state of Veracruz, and the unveiling of a portrait in the galleries of the national palace.
By drawing lots, the president offered his watch to one of the journalists present, a profession that he often attacked head on for six years.
His press conferences were above all an exercise in “propaganda” according to communications specialist Luis Estrada. Most of the questions were asked by “friendly journalists,” notes American academic Pamela Starr.
The new president, from the same left-wing party, is expected to hold her first press conference on Wednesday morning.