Mexico: AMLO Marks First Year in Office, Hails Achievements and Promises More

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador celebrated his first year as head of state this Sunday, being the only left-wing mandate in Mexican history.

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His performance has been highly praised, even by some of his closest adversaries, who have recognized that the country has advanced, and aims to continue to do so, in social matters. Out of the 100 promises made on Dec. 1, 2018, the president has fulfilled 35 commitments, 23 are in the process of being fulfilled, nine are not fulfilled and 33 cannot yet be evaluated.

During Thursday's press conference, AMLO pointed out that his administration "is not a matter of one man, of one leader, what we are doing among all of us who contribute, who support the transformation of the country. We all have to feel very happy about what we have advanced."

When Lopez Obrador came to power, he had inherited the greatest wave of violence in Mexico's recent history, as in 2018 more than 36,000 people were violently murdered, according to figures from the government's National Institute of Statistics and Geography.

Part of his plan to reduce these indicators was a security strategy to combat violence, so he created the National Guard, composed of military and naval police to replace the federal police, changing previous government strategies that were based on military operations.

In addition, AMLO sought out the causes of crime in the country and has tackled them with scholarships and youth employment programs, as well as a comprehensive program against addictions.

Although in the past most of the violence was generated by the war between drug cartels, now part of the homicides and insecurity is caused by fuel-theft gangs, so AMLO's plan included a special operation against fuel theft, known as "huachicoleo."

In economic terms, AMLO managed to halt the United States' intention to impose sanctions on Mexican imports, while the direct foreign investment grew 7.8 percent in the first months of the year.

In the social indicator, one of its greatest achievements was the plan to support the elders, which has been one of the social programs with the greatest acceptance among the population. At this point, the president highlighted "the human dimension" of the issue, that all elders in Mexico, as well as children and the poor, already have the right to a pension, "they already have for their food, for the basics."

In addition, after 36 years, it achieved the largest increase in the minimum wage, and in 2019, 11 million scholarships have been awarded.