On Friday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) appeared to take yet another step away from his carefully crafted anti-corruption persona after he launched an offensive against over 100 external oversight and regulatory agencies. He has previously voiced his distrust of non-governmental and civil groups, and has been shown to be reticent to accept criticism of his administration. This hardline stance led the resignation of the head of the federal anti-discrimination campaign.
AMLO presented his initiative to abolish or restructure the Energy Regulatory Commission, among 100 or so other such bodies, saying, “We are going to make administrative changes.” He added, “We will study them, but there are hundreds, without doubt more than 100 of these independent, autonomous organizations.”
These agencies were introduced by previous presidents to regulate newly privatized sectors, such as the oil and electricity industries. AMLO has repeatedly stated his opposition to private competition. For instance, he has initiated projects to build new oil refineries to reduce Mexico’s dependency on the US and on imports at large, but also to nationalize sections of the oil industry.
His latest decision drew the ire of Mónica Maccise, the head of the National Commission to Prevent Discrimination. She resigned soon after the President’s announcement on Friday. The head of the crime victim’s office also resigned after severe budget cuts. López Obrador wishes to combine the anti-discrimination agency with the Interior Department.
The President said, “There is another term that has become stylish, non-governmental organizations, and then we find out they lived off government money.” While some may see his actions as corrupt, others argue that this is simply AMLO’s bias towards his administration, viewing only those around him as incorruptible.
During his term, the President has positioned himself as a champion of people’s rights and a protector against corruption. For example, he has reformed the Asset Administration and Disposal Service (SAE), which seizes cars and houses from smugglers and tax-evaders, as the “Institute for the Return of Stolen Goods to the People”. In June 2019, following an auction for these goods, he promised $1.3 million from the proceeds to two Indigenous villages in Oaxaca.
While this approach has drawn much applause, others worry that he is not open enough to criticism— as evidenced by his announcement on Friday—and that he has not done enough to rout out corruption. For example, last week, District Court Judge Uriel Villegas Ortiz and his wife were killed in the western state of Colima; Villegas was investigating drug cartels. AMLO has also previously been seen shaking the hand of the mother of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, a notorious drug trafficker and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, which has been held responsible for the deaths of thousands of Mexicans.
This latest action to abolish and restructure oversight and regulatory agencies will merely serve to support claims of his rigid and inflexible leadership.
Mexican President to Abolish or Restructure External Oversight and Regulatory Agencies
Andrés Manuel López Obrador has voiced his distrust of non-governmental and civil groups.
June 22, 2020
IMAGE SOURCE: MEXICAN PRESIDENCYMexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador