Andrés Manuel López Obrador has reduced poverty in Mexico
But he could have done better
When he came to office in 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador pledged to put the poor first. It is one promise Mexico’s president has managed, in part, to keep. The number of Mexicans living in poverty has fallen from 52m to 47m during his term, according to measurements made by the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy, an independent government body. That would count as success at the best of times. That it coincided with a pandemic and Mexico’s biggest economic contraction since the Depression makes it remarkable.
Explore more
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “A rare success”
More from The Americas
Can Brazil’s left survive without Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva?
Brazil’s current president, a titan of the Latin American left, has no apparent heirs
Donald Trump is targeting Mexico like no other country
The United States’ southern neighbour is bracing for a wave of deportees and trapped migrants
The race to lead Canada’s Liberal Party hinges on handling Trump
Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland are the front-runners
Canada has adopted assisted dying faster than anywhere on Earth
The province of Quebec now allows those with deteriorating illnesses to request an assisted death in advance
Tether’s move to El Salvador is a win for President Nayib Bukele
Why the stablecoin firm has picked the Central American country for its headquarters
From Greenland to Panama and Mexico, leaders are in shock
As Donald Trump eyes fine new pieces of real estate in the Americas and beyond