Mexico Roundup: AMLO’s popularity, 2023 massacres, minimum wage increase, businessman arrested
AMLO’s approval rate
According to the Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA), since he began his six-year term in December 2018, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has been described as the “Teflon president,” due to his high popularity despite numerous scandals and controversial remarks. A quick review of popularity polls conducted by AS/COA shows that about two-thirds of Mexicans approve of AMLO and his administration. The current President outperforms three of his predecessors and matches the popularity levels of Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000). About 55% of Mexicans think the country is on a good or very good path, and 52% think AMLO’s government has been successful. López Obrador remains very popular among people over 50 years old (69% approval rate).
Minimum wage increase
El Universal reports that on January 1, a 20% increase in minimum wages came into effect in Mexico. This means that workers with this income should be paid 248.93 pesos daily (about US$14.60). The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS) plans to monitor compliance with the new increase through its annual inspection program, focusing on economic obligations. Workers not receiving the proper payment can report irregularities to the STPS. With this increase, the minimum wage will cover the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy's (Coneval) Poverty Line by 1.73 times.
420 massacres in 2023
According to CNN, an armed attack in the municipality of Cajeme, Sonora, in northwest Mexico, resulted in at least six dead and 26 injured, as reported by Mexican authorities on December 29th. The Sonora Prosecutor's Office stated that the attack occurred around 11:30 p.m. local time on Thursday when three armed individuals stormed "a gathering with several attendees". Gustavo Salas Sánchez, Sonora's prosecutor, mentioned that one of the six deceased had five arrest warrants for charges including homicide, femicide, illegal deprivation of liberty, and criminal association. Authorities suspected he might have been the target of the attack. Causa en Común, a human rights organization, registered over 420 massacres in Mexico in 2023.
Indigenous communities' influence
Three decades after the Zapatista uprising, Mexico's indigenous communities have no place in the country's political or cultural landscapes, according to Raúl Romero, a sociologist interviewed by Revista Proceso. On January 1st, 1994 the Zapatista Army for National Liberation coordinated a 12-day uprising in the state of Chiapas, Mexico in protest of the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement. According to Romero, the Zapatista movement exposed the shortcomings of the Mexican cultural and political system, revealing the semi-colonial conditions in which indigenous communities lived. However, not much has changed since then, says Romero. While some elected officials come from indigenous communities, he laments that real autonomy is an illusion.
Businessman with ties to drug cartels arrested in Madrid
According to Revista Proceso, on December 31st, businessman Jonathan Alexis Weinberg Pinto was arrested in Madrid, accused of being a frontman and a key accomplice of Genaro García Luna, Mexico's former Security minister accused of taking bribes from a drug cartel. The Mexican Attorney General's Office (FGR) reported that Weinberg Pinto is now subject to extradition. Last year, the head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), Pablo Gómez, exposed the "corrupt network" that García Luna operated for 20 years and allowed him and his accomplices to acquire properties and luxury cars in the United States. Businessman Weinberg Pinto is accused of organized crime, money laundering, and embezzlement.
