Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
The 4T’s governance strategy is to defend itself by attacking enemies, whether real or imagined. However, a new variable has now been introduced. It is a narrative line intended for all loyal and obedient supporters. The instruction is to devote time every day to glorifying the myth of the work, thought, and legacy of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Some editorialists pour honey over López Obrador. They are reminiscent of journalistic texts in which obedient pens praised the historical exploits of Hitler or Stalin. In other words, today in Mexico, texts of this ilk are being produced, with everyone scrambling to see who can flatter the most and the loudest.
But unlike Hitler or Stalin, who could execute those who contradicted their pens, in Mexico, we have not yet gone so far in limiting freedom of expression. In fact, most writers in Mexico retain a critical spirit, albeit in different forms and tones.
The 4T would like to establish a court, linked to the judiciary, whose function would be to punish those who criticize the government by criminally classifying criticism as “lies.” This was proposed by one of those paid writers in a national newspaper.
The temptation to use the judiciary to silence criticism is already part of Morena’s arsenal. The cases in Campeche, Puebla, and Sonora are previews of what this court, which they are so eager to create, would do to critics. And they have it all figured out: it would be one of the functions of the “New Judiciary.” To wipe criticism off the face of the earth.
And it is precisely now that the order has been issued to defend the former president, whatever the cost and whatever the argument. The need arises just when the Winter Palace is under attack. Criticism of the previous six-year term and the transfer of all past assets and liabilities to this six-year term are causing anxiety in the Palace. Not a day goes by without the emergence of a new corruption crisis, or the association of Morena members with organized crime, or an internal struggle among members of the ruling bureaucracy.
This new crisis scenario is challenging, given the giant magnifying glass that the United States uses to observe the daily lives of the members of Morena’s real leadership.
The key to the whole issue is that the president cannot remove or change the members of her government without upsetting the interests of the former president. And he is unwilling to let things be disrupted, lest he be exposed to criticism or even legal action against him or his family.
It turns out that the “Maximato” he designed and imposed on the president is proving to be a prison for both of them, where they are hostages to their own circumstances. Neither can move while they watch the Palace burn. One false move, one targeted accusation, or one piece of damaging information disclosed could cause the entire scaffolding of power and control they have created to collapse.
No one can resign, just as no one can fall. If one resigns or falls, they all fall, and everyone will have to resign. That is how delicate and serious the situation is. And beware: the temptation of a self-coup is clearly present. What Evo in Bolivia and Castillo in Peru attempted was a response to the pressure their governments were under and the corner they were in. Their example lives on in the imagination of AMLO.
Control over the armed forces, the judiciary, and the legislature, coupled with the passivity of business leaders and the domination of the electoral body, combined with pacts with organized crime, add up to one thing: the temptation to seize absolute power so as not to have to explain Morena’s internal corruption to anyone and to ensure its continuity in power.
The glorification of AMLO is paving the way for the continuation of his political project in Mexico, perhaps even eliminating the irritating need to hold elections. In short, the greater the glorification of the Messiah, the greater the danger of an irreversible regression in Mexico’s democratic life.
@rpascoep
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