In Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador is the great beneficiary of the North American president's speech

The racist, discriminatory or even xenophobic comments are not a novelty that came to American society after the campaign of the now President Donald Trump. Since its beginnings as a power nation, the United States has been characterized as a "country of immigrants", and in this situation, the different North American leaders have handled two speeches: the liberal and the conservative. The liberal discourse focuses on the benefits of welcoming immigrants, and the conservative, on the other hand, focuses on the negative consequences of receiving ethnic groups or races that contrast with the ideal of the "American Way of Life."

Leer en español: “Si yo fuera presidente, habríamos denunciado a Trump en la ONU": Andrés Manuel López Obrador

After two presidential periods of Barack Obama, which promoted the liberal idea of ​​receiving immigrants and consider them a positive element for American society, Trump arrived with a speech that was appeased but not forgotten. Extreme right is willing to back that discourse, previously silenced for what was considered socially and politically correct with Obama: a hate speech, in which Trump focused mainly on anti-Mexican sentiment.

Organizations like Southern Poverty Law Center and civil Political Research Associates confirm the resurgence of a movement of the radical right after the arrival of Trump to the political spectrum

Phrases like "When Mexico sends its people, they do not send us the best. They send us people with many problems, who bring drugs, crime and are rapists", "Mexicans are killing us on the border, "and" I'll build a great wall and I'll make Mexico pay for it", are the most controversial of his speech.

As a consequence, in the Latino community and especially in Mexicans, a wave of rejection against the rhetoric of President Trump and his followers began. This wave was channeled by civil society organizations such as "Vibra Mexico", which raise their voices to demand respect for the Central American country and ask their government for a firm stance on this situation.

Emergence of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)

On July 1, presidential elections will be held in Mexico, and Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), the presidential candidate of the Together We Will Make History coalition formed by Morena, the Labor Party (PT) and the Social Encounter Party (PES), leads the political scene. This information was revealed by the Oraculus portal, which takes IGNORE INTO account all the surveys conducted in Mexico.

This is the third presidential battle of AMLO, and although his campaign flag is the fight against corruption, his candidacy comes at a key moment: the anti-Trump sentiment in Mexico, to which the candidate has taken advantage.

This phenomenon, analyzed from the first months of 2017, is contrary to the actions of the current Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, who has been measured by the attacks of the last three years by Donald Trump. On the other hand, Lopez Obrador has maintained a nationalist position, firm, and ready to defend the dignity of Mexico against the abuses of the North American president.

"If I were president, we would have denounced Trump at the UN for violation of human rights and racial discrimination," AMLO told La Vanguardia, after an event in Coyotepec, in February 2017.

Also read DONALD TRUMP: THE MILITARIZATION OF THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF THE UNITED STATES?

AMLO and Trump

López Obrador and Donald Trump have a populist and nationalist rhetoric based on emotional exploitation, as stated by Manuel González Oscoy, a researcher at the Faculty of Psychology of the UNAM. With this rhetoric, they have achieved that the anti-Trump and anti-Mexican situation, driven by both parts, becomes a decisive political factor. This was the case for Trump during his campaign, as it is for AMLO at present.

Issues such as the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), immigration reform, and the construction of a border wall, have propelled AMLO as Trump’s antagonist and counterweight to his ideas.

In an article for The Washington Post, journalist Frida Ghitis explained that "every reference to Mexico made by Donald Trump increases the possibilities of the populist López Obrador."

AMLO’s speech against declarations and actions of Trump

1. "We are not going to rule out the possibility of convincing Donald Trump of his wrong foreign policy and, in particular, of his derogatory attitude towards Mexicans, we will be very respectful of the United States government, but we will also demand respect from Mexicans, neither Mexico nor its people will be piñata of any foreign government." – Hours after Donald Trump lashed out against Mexico on his Twitter account, in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, April 1, 2018.
2. "Donald Trump's decision to send soldiers to the border is a matter of political and propaganda, because he wants to be re-elected, we do not want the people of Mexico to be used as an excuse." – On Trump's military deployment plan at the borders, in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, April 5, 2018.
3. "All this, because it leads to ensure that: or he is poorly informed, I say this respectfully President Trump, or he is using this campaign to position itself politically in the United States, that is, it is pure propaganda." -About President Donald Trump's statement about a major threat on the southern border of the United States, in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulapinas, April 5, 2018.

Latin American Post | Camila González C
Translated from “ Si yo fuera presidente, habríamos denunciado a Trump en la ONU por violación de derechos humanos"”