Politics: Lessons for Mexico in Biden’s election
As the number of countries rushing to congratulate US President-elect Joe Biden has swelled to include even numerous heads of state with strong affinities for Donald Trump, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador remains among the dwindling ranks of those who are holding back, alongside the more geographically distant Bolsonaro in Brazil and Russia’s Putin. Given AMLO’s record these past two years of accommodating almost all White House demands and his decision to make his only trip abroad as president a courtesy call on Trump while he was campaigning for a second term of office, the National Palace’s current reticence could complicate the bilateral relationship between Mexico and its northern neighbor beginning next year, precisely at a time when thorny issues remain on the bilateral agenda.
There is a silver lining inasmuch as Biden will reintroduce an institutional foreign policy based on defined policies and interests implemented by experienced teams, in place of the one dictated by Trump’s abrupt mood swings and conveyed through his Twitter account. But there is no getting around the extent to which Biden’s victory should serve as a reminder that it is possible to defeat the divisive and polarizing strategies of populist regimes, something AMLO might want to contemplate. However, that is a lesson that is more likely to fall on the receptive ears of an opposition that is beginning to coalesce.
In this sense it is worth noting the emergence of the Sí por México project of individual citizens and civil society organizations that has set its sights on retaking the Chamber of Deputies with the backing of opposition parties. Its National Citizens' Convention last week confirmed that in its first 20 days the group has signed up more than 50,000 members and 500 organizations. Denying AMLO a congressional majority for the second half of his time in office will hinge on the opposition’s ability to retain the 80 districts it defended three years ago and regain the roughly 114 districts in which Morena won with less than a 20% margin of victory, as well as the ability to register a coordinated strategy of coalitions by the December deadline.
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