Business
Mexican president criticized for his empty promises in the fight against corruption
During his speech at the UN, the Mexican president said that corruption is the main issue his country needs to tackle.
November 22, 2021 1:19pm
Updated: November 22, 2021 5:59pm
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s fight against corruption appears to be a “strategy deeply influenced by politics and with little to show for it," said the Financial Times.
López Obrador’s administration appears to control corruption at macro levels, claims journalist Christine Murray. However, Mexicans "pay hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to public officials for basic paperwork, such as starting a business or paying car taxes."
Murray says the president’s austerity plan gives some credibility to his statements against corruption, but ultimately, the country "lacks independence or resources to sustain a fight of such dimensions".
During his visit to New York, López Obrador chaired the debate on corruption, inequality, inclusion, and armed conflicts at the United Nations (UN) Security Council. In his speech, he said that fighting corruption is how Mexico will be on a better path.
"It would be hypocritical to ignore that the main problem of the planet is corruption in all its dimensions, it would be foolish to ignore that corruption is the main cause of poverty, frustration, violence, migration, and serious social conflicts," he said on November 9.
On October 25, the Financial Times’ front page highlighted a popularity contest between world leaders. Andrés Manuel López Obrador ranked as the second most approved president (65%), only behind India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (71%).
Even though the Mexican president boasted about his ranking in the survey, the Associated Press reported that the survey only evaluates the approval of 13 heads of state around the world.
Throughout his administration, López Obrador has criticized the Financial Times. In early October, the British paper said the Mexican president was an authoritarian leader. López Obrador responded by asking the newspaper to apologize to his country for promoting a neoliberal economic model, which, he claims, has done a great deal of damage to Mexico and the world.
