Mexican President's Popularity Endures Despite Rising Corruption Concerns - Beritaja

MEXICO CITY — Tens of thousands of Mexicans are group to stitchery downtown Sunday successful a choreographed tribute to President Claudia Sheinbaum, who closed retired her first twelvemonth successful agency pinch support ratings northbound of 70%.

Apart from her individual fame arsenic Mexico’s first female president, polls show beardown support among mediocre and working-class Mexicans for her continuation of social-aid programs launched by her predecessor and mentor, ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum screams during the yearly outcry of Independence (Grito de Independencia) arsenic portion of Mexico’s Independence Day ceremony connected Sept. 15 successful Mexico City.

(Hector Vivas / Getty Images)

Sheinbaum, who took agency past Oct. 1, has embraced and expanded López Obrador’s leftist societal agenda, often repeating his mantra: “For the bully of all, the mediocre first.”

But, amid the plaudits, location is besides a disconnect: Polls and interviews show heavy concerns about crime, the system and, increasingly, the defining rumor of corruption — the elimination of which is simply a cardinal plank of the president’s Morena movement, founded by ex-president López Obrador.

Almost three-quarters of respondents (73%) gave Sheinbaum’s authorities a antagonistic standing for its handling of corruption, the poorest people to day for its anti-corruption efforts, according to a canvass past period from the newspaper El Financiero.

While crime remains Mexicans’ about pressing concern, galore mention corruption arsenic a halfway rumor that could yet erode spot successful the management of Sheinbaum, whose word lasts 5 much years.

“We are seeing the aforesaid corruption arsenic successful past governments. It’s very disappointing,” said Lorena Santibañez, 25, a aesculapian student. “I want to springiness la presidenta the use of the uncertainty — it’s her first year. But I don’t person overmuch hope.”

Almost regular headlines present item instances of alleged graft, nepotism and different questionable behaviour wrong Sheinbaum’s ruling circles. Some reports person focused connected relatives aliases adjacent associates of the retired López Obrador, whom Sheinbaum regularly extols arsenic a visionary and exemplar of civilized integrity.

The corruption revelations thin to scope from the somewhat venal — statement bigwigs surviving connected constricted authorities salaries enjoying lavish lifestyles — to much insidious allegations of Morena officials successful convention pinch organized crime.

Making a societal media scatter this summertime were news reports connected the ritzy vacations of various Morena heavyweights, notably Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, the boy of the ex-president, who serves arsenic Morena’s statement secretary.

His enactment astatine a $400-a-night Tokyo edifice and reported $2,600 edifice measure sparked outrage successful a federation wherever galore gain $10 a time aliases less. Amid the escalating reports of Morena officials enjoying the precocious life abroad, Sheinbaum signaled her disapproval.

“Power must beryllium exercised pinch humility — that is my position and ever will be,” she told reporters. “We person a work pinch the activity we represent, and the principles that we represent.”

No allegations person touched Sheinbaum, a intelligence and longtime world known for her austere manner and superior demeanor.

“We haven’t heard of immoderate ungraded about her, of corrupt relatives, aliases family members successful nationalist agency doing business,” said José Farías, 54, a autobus driver. “That has helped her stay popular, on pinch the truth that group position her arsenic well-prepared, intelligent and honorable.”

Sheinbaum, who was recruited into nationalist work by López Obrador while she was an obscure world and he the politician of Mexico City, is now the standard-bearer for Morena. It is simply a activity that, successful small much than a decade, has go a juggernaut.

Morena dominates government, the judiciary and different facets of Mexican life successful a measurement that has drawn inevitable comparisons to a erstwhile Mexican governmental colossus — the Institutional Revolutionary Party, known arsenic the PRI, which ruled Mexico successful authoritarian manner for overmuch of the 20th century.

The PRI is now greatly diminished, and Morena’s exemplary differs from the PRI playbook of rigged elections, institutionalized graft, repression and an all-powerful president. But galore of Morena’s aged guard, including López Obrador, earned their stripes arsenic PRI operatives.

“It’s very difficult to explicate Morena’s hegemony without acknowledging that it cannibalized a batch of what was near of the PRI,” said Carlos Bravo Regidor, a governmental analyst. “And a batch of what was near of the PRI was criminal governance and complicity pinch criminal organizations.”

Such complicity has go much problematic arsenic the Trump management has fundamentally declared warfare connected supplier cartels, designating a half-dozen Mexican crime syndicates arsenic violent groups. Several caller scandals person suggested Morena politicians were successful cahoots pinch organized crime.

Morena’s apical personnel of the Senate, Adán Augusto López Hernández — a erstwhile interior minister, ex-governor of Tabasco authorities and lifelong subordinate of López Obrador— has publically denied links to a mob known arsenic La Barredora (The Sweeper). The alleged leader of La Barredora, a erstwhile information main successful Tabasco, is now imprisoned successful Mexico aft being arrested arsenic a fugitive successful Paraguay.

It was López Hernández who, while politician of Tabasco, appointed the alleged mob chieftain to the information post. The legislator says he knew nothing.

Even the Mexican navy, classed among the nation’s most-trusted institutions, has been implicated successful a far-reaching fuel-theft scheme, pinch 14 suspects arrested truthful far. One is simply a nephew of the admiral who served arsenic caput of the navy nether López Obrador. In response, Sheinbaum defended the admiral and said he helped denounce the thievery.

Repeatedly, Sheinbaum has been put successful the position of declaring that nary 1 is supra the law. “We won’t screen up for anyone,” has go a statesmanlike mantra.

Some reformers person credited Sheinbaum pinch confronting corruption, while others opportunity she has been excessively cautious, excessively hesitant, to return connected a problem profoundly entrenched successful Mexican politics.

“A batch of group wrong Morena are saying, ‘Let’s push retired the bad apples,’ “ noted Bravo Regidor. “But what’s rotten is the barrel, not the apples.”

Earlier this year, the president publically pressured Morena to institute a strict anti-nepotism policy. But her scheme ran into beardown headwinds successful a statement wherever patronage is rampant.

Luisa María Alcalde Luján, a lawyer who presides arsenic president of Morena, has been mocked for declaring that the statement is nepotism-free. Both of her parents were salient successful the authorities of López Obrador, and her sister is the lawyer wide for Mexico City.

“It’s truthful mendacious erstwhile politicians from Morena opportunity location is nary corruption,” said Miguel Angel García, 32, a salesman. “Yes, Sheinbaum is much honest. But she has a batch of activity to do.”

Special analogous Cecilia Sánchez Vidal contributed to this report.