For decades, the media, the commentocracy and the party in power, first the PRI and then the PAN, manipulated Mexicans, and although they did not always succeed, they did manage to subdue them.
Furthermore, I dare say that since the 1988 elections where they cheated Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas (of the PRD, at that time a leftist party) so that Salinas de Gortari (PRI) became president, they have not been able to manipulate the people of Mexico.
What they did achieve was to deactivate millions of people who opted for apathy in politics. At that moment they understood that, through democratic means, a progressive candidate would never win the elections.
The bravest activists continued fighting, but many ended up killed or missing, around 600 and mostly from the PRD. With this, terror was spread among the fiercest social fighters, however, not all of them were defeated, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) was one of them.
Let us remember that the stage of neoliberalism (1982 to 2018) had economic, media, religious, judicial and political power; And if that were not enough, at the beginning of this century, they finished building an alternate government with autonomous powers to shield all their actions in favor of the corporate government.
Yes, it was important to ensure that all the changes to the Constitution that they made (around 500) during the stage of neoliberalism in favor of national and foreign corporations remained intact.
And to a large extent they achieved it, so it was expected that even if AMLO became president, there would be no major problems, and given the impossibility of being able to make real changes, they could return in 2024. However, the people decided otherwise.
From the outset, we cannot deny that the massive participation of the people in the 2018 elections was decisive for AMLO’s arrival to power, but I believe that without the involvement of former president Enrique Peña Nieto in carrying out fraud, things possibly would have turned out differently. final, but that is mere speculation.
The truth is that once AMLO won the presidency, the judiciary blocked laws approved by the legislative and executive, the church also tried to influence fear in the population, the protections and demands of civil associations multiplied by thousands, and if was not enough, the judiciary had its unconstitutionality veto ready for any reform that came into its hands.
Of course, all this was promoted and supported by the corporate media and its commentators who, since 1988, began campaigns against Obrador: “AMLO is a danger to Mexico”, “If AMLO wins we will become Venezuela or Cuba”, “the dollar would reach 40 pesos”, “foreign investments would leave Mexico” and that even “Chontal and Catholic churches would be closed.”
Of that size were the lies of the mass media and the now opposition (PRI and PAN: PRIAN), which to their surprise, at the end of AMLO’s presidency, Mexico climbed two ranks in the world economic order, there was no devaluation before the dollar, more than 9 million Mexicans left poverty and there was construction of infrastructure like never before; In addition, Mexicans have received strong support from the government in social programs, the minimum wage went from $87 pesos to $240, and all of this has allowed for a strong, less unequal economy where everyone wins, including large corporations.
The sad thing about all this is that despite knowing that everything the media, the commentocracy and the PRIAN said was a lie, there are people who continue to support them.
And with all due respect, this generation of PRIAN and the Citizen Movement party (MC) have proven time and time again that they only want power to benefit themselves and the national and foreign corporations.
These parties, with countless examples, have proven that they do not care about the sovereignty of the nation and prefer that we depend on foreign corporations in issues such as electricity, oil and food, among many other industries.
Obviously, the results in the June 2 elections are more than evident that fewer and fewer people believe them, but there are still 16 million who voted for Xóchitl Gálvez, the PRIAN candidate. And that worries.
Not because it is thought that they will return to power, which we hope not, but because it has been proven, time and again, how harmful the PRIAN and MC are for Mexicans and for Mexico.
Unfortunately, a small group of economic power with a lot of money and the media in their pockets continue to overflow with lies and hatred against Morena, the Fourth Transformation (4T) and their candidates. The reality is that what they want is to come to power to control the budget and continue stealing.
The bad thing is that these groups have quite a few resources and are very likely going to continue lying again and again during the presidency of Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum, trying to convince some Mexicans that Morena, the party in power, is the same as everyone, and that they deserve a chance to return.
We know that in Morena they have sneaked in and the door has been opened to some PRIAN politicians; In addition, some Morenistas resist change, but in general, we can say with certainty that the majority of members follow the philosophy of the former president: Do not lie, do not steal and do not betray the people.
I hope that people who are still not convinced of Morena, see a little beyond their partisan ideologies and do not let themselves be fooled by the mass media or some commentators who their only objective is to profit and make money at the expense, even, of May things go badly for Mexico and the Mexicans.
The Sonoran senator from the PAN, Lilly Téllez, already said it a few days ago, that she wanted things to go badly for the first president of Mexico, because according to her, if things go well for Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum, then things will go badly for Mexico.
The reality is that what this senator, as well as the opposition in general, wants is for Mexico to do poorly so that the PRIAN will have a better chance in the next elections.
These types of attitudes are only seen in Mexico and many right-wing governments in Latin America. In the United States, the country that most right-wing Latin American governments admire, there is a difference between Democrats and Republicans, two right-wing parties, one more extreme than the other, but when it comes to voting for something that involves national security , they always vote together because they don’t want American industries to be affected.
Unfortunately this does not happen in Mexico, the opposition or the PRIAN have shown time and again that they represent foreign power more than Mexicans; Many of them have even openly asked the United States to intervene in Mexican politics.
It’s unfortunate, but let’s hope that more and more people realize the lies of the mass media and the opposition. They have already shown us that they do not seek the best for Mexico, they only look out for their interests and the interests of national and foreign corporations.
So we tell you that although Obrador has left and Mexico has not become Venezuela, in the next six years you will continue to hear the same song, among many others.
Juan José Gutiérrez has been an activist in Los Angeles for almost four decades
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