Antonio Navalón
To say that López Obrador never lied is partially telling the truth. The Mexican president was always clear about his intentions and plans; whether we thought he would not do it or would not dare to carry it out is another story – as has happened with so many other nations. Since he first wore the presidential sash, López Obrador was very sincere and transparent about the country he wanted to build – or destroy, depending on how you look at it – and he would not let any obstacle stop him. Despite the vote of confidence deposited by over thirty million Mexicans, it is wise to admit our mistake.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador never lied to us. He was honest with his plans and never hid his interest in building a Mexico that would suit him. Another thing is that we thought he would not be able to do it. However, it is necessary to draw and learn the lessons and conclusions that these last six years have left us – less dramatic than those that the German people had to draw in their time with the surrender, without any conditions, of power in all its expression to the hands of their Führer. But we have to do it not only to take stock of what has been accomplished but also because everything that has been done has been with the full support and sustenance of the Mexican people.
This is a moment in which we cannot cry for the Republic. The qualified majority given and obtained, first, by the vote of the Mexican people and, second, due to the mental control of the entities that regulate the electoral law in our country, makes the Mexican Constitution resemble the events that triggered the conquest of the Alhambra of Granada, an event that in turn gave way to the birth of Spain in 1492. Saying this, it is reasonable, convenient, and necessary to remember the words of Boabdil’s mother, Queen Aixa, when she saw her son lamenting for leaving his precious kingdom in the hands of the Catholic Monarchs: “Weep as a woman what you did not know how to defend as a man”.
Weeping for the Mexican Republic will serve no purpose. Disregarding the rupture and the discovery that the world we promised Mexicans about freedom would make them fuller, happier, and in control of their lives, has served to bring me to a very important conclusion. The Mexican people realized there was no point in having a Supreme Court of Justice or support in the form of scholarships or economic support from the government of President Lopez Obrador if they were mortgaging the country’s future. However, this was nothing more than a mirage; last June 1st, more than 35 million Mexicans voted for the continuation of this regime, allowing Claudia Sheinbaum to become the first woman to lead the country.
The people of Mexico spoke and made their loyalties and preferences clear. On October 1, after sixty-five men, Dr. Sheinbaum will be the first woman to wear the presidential sash of Mexico. However, the one to whom the Mexican people really gave their vote is the author of the miracle that managed to destroy and change the world of aspirations. The one who changed the dynamics and structures of our country and who established as a banner of his six-year term of office to always put the poor first and to convince them that it was better to give fish – in the form of pesos – to Mexicans than to teach them how to fish.
It is too late to pretend to do everything we did not do. The bells are tolling for the democratic illusion that the conquest of rights and liberties would make us better. Indeed, we will be better by being freer. However, what will demonstrate and mark this improvement is when we have four instead of two tortillas.
In the face of all the challenges and uncertainties that will inevitably come, there are the pesos and the aid that President López Obrador deposits month after month in the accounts of millions of Mexicans. Mexicans believe that what they have is barely enough to eat; however, it is a fact that they can eat. And that is a guarantee, in the form of votes at the ballot box, that maintains and will continue to maintain López Obrador and his allies in power. The 4T has made a gigantic effort to hijack all progress, growth, and prosperity in exchange for mediocre security.
Governance and democracy are in crisis around the world. In our case, they are no longer in crisis, but rather—by way of the popular will—they have taken the path of handing over their future to their new guide and leaving in their hands everything that needs to be done, regardless of the effects and consequences.
Will Lopez Obrador go to La Chingada at the end of his term? It is my understanding that for a short period, he will. Although staying where he is will not depend so much on his desire – since his chest is not a cellar – but on the extent to which he notices that his successor will comply with the ideological purity of his movement and the continuity of his message. Ultimately, he is not just any politician but a leader marked by his God. All this is to fulfill a program that, in many senses, pretends to turn around the historical circumstances about which it is still not clear that it is done for a higher good, but to mark a before and an after his arrival to power.
It was a total success for the citizen Andrés Manuel López Obrador; he has already entered history. The problem will be when, years from now, historians try to understand why an entire people—amidst their hunger, frustration, and uninterrupted school of hatred taught by the mañaneras —decided to give up their lives in exchange for a pension.
Today, once Morena and its allies have obtained a qualified majority in the Chamber of Deputies – and are very close to receiving it in the Chamber of Senators – the words spoken by Queen Aixa to her son after the fall of the Alhambra echo in the ears of the Mexican people. However, on this occasion, tears will not fix the situation or reverse what has happened. The absolute and unrestricted control by a few people makes us think that the Republic has simply come to an end.
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