Today has become a very busy day, and I don’t have the time for a post, but I recommend that you read Mary O’Grady’s article on how Monterrey tycoon Alfonso Romo, whom AMLO has named chief of staff of his proposed cabinet, got richer quick through a 2004 IPO and buyback of sorts.
Mexico: AMLO in sheep’s clothing
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, best known as AMLO, is running for president of Mexico.
The thing is, communism doesn’t sell, so he’s wearing moderate clothing,
Mr. López Obrador does not seem to have given up on his dream to revive Mexican corporatism, in which government intervenes heavily in the economy. But he does recognize that his economic instincts are a liability in a national election. So he’s playing them down and marketing himself as a moderate who will defeat crony capitalism and champion social justice.
The promise to fight corruption strikes a chord with Mexicans, and Mr. López Obrador leads with a plurality in early polling in a race that is likely to feature more than three candidates.
But!
But he has two important vulnerabilities. First, there are major contradictions between his economic agenda and the aspirations of the young nation. Second, he is not always viewed by Mexicans as the squeaky-clean messiah he makes himself out to be.
Oh, that.
Remember the 43 missing Iguala students?
Residents of Iguala told La Opinión that the gang moved into the town only after José Luis Abarca became its mayor with Mr. López Obrador’s backing. One local told La Opinión that Mr. López Obrador ignored warnings from townspeople that Mr. Abarca had ties to the cartel.
As if that were not enough, AMLO has proposed amnesty for drug kingpins in exchange for peace with the cartels.
The election is in July. What could possibly go wrong if he wins?
Cross-posted at WoW! Magazine.
Mexico: $50 million to fight deportation, $39 million for flat-screen tvs
Mexico’s mismanagement is one of the reasons why Pres. Peña Nieto is so unpopular:
Mexico’s congressional audit office has ruled that a controversial government program to give away some 10 million flat-screen TV sets to the poor wasted an estimated $39 million of taxpayers’ money.
The audit found that some 339,000 of the televisions in President Enrique Peña Nieto’s nearly $1-billion program were defective. The subsidy program was aimed at helping the poor during the country’s 2015 switch from analog to digital signals for television.
Around 12,200 television sets are missing altogether
Mexico’s congressional audit office estimates that $39 billion was wasted.
Mexico is turning more to the left, spilling raw sewage on California’s beaches, and its largest source of revenue is remittances totaling US$29 billion, outpacing petroleum exports (US$18.7 billion) and revenue from foreign visitors (US$17.4 billion).
95% of remittances come from the United States.
No wonder the Mexican government wants to keep the remittances coming. They made a video: “How to prepare in case you are detained for immigration [violations]
The first item is (my translation):
“01 HAVE AN EMERGENCY PLAN
take care of your family,, especially underage children. If they were born in the US, go to the nearest consulate and register them as Mexicans.”
The US$50 million campaign will
hire lawyers for migrants facing deportation in the United States.
The money will also go to outreach programs “to promote respect for Mexicans’ rights.”
Think of the program as a business expense for the Mexican government, which gets more money from those who leave than from those who stay.
Then there’s the US Tax code. According to IRS Publication 501, Table 5,
The provision allows the U.S. taxpayer to claim an exemption and deduct $4,050 from taxable income for such relatives living in Mexico, so long as the relative’s gross income is less than $4,050 per year, and the U.S. taxpayer taking the exemption provides more than half the person’s total support for the year.
Parting question,
Who verifies that the claimed exemptions are legit?
Mexico: AMLO campaigns in LA, criticizing Pres. Trump UPDATED
The Dems cry foul and accuse Russia of interfering in American elections, they turn a blind eye to Mexican extreme-left presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a.k.a AMLO:
Over the last few days, Sr. Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador, known south of the border as AMLO, was campaigning in Los Angeles and criticizing President Trump
(click on image for the text in Spanish)
Mexico’s Lopez Obrador blasts Trump’s immigration policies at LA rally
Mexico’s home-grown populist and presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador rallied supporters in Los Angeles on Sunday, criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric and plans for a wall along the border.
Looking ahead to the presidential election next year, Lopez Obrador sought to tap widespread discontent with Mexico’s ruling party and resentment toward the new U.S. president, while placing faith in Americans to resist Trump’s policies.
“I think the wall and the demagoguery of patriotism are no match for the dignity and humanity of the American people,” Lopez Obrador told the rally in Los Angeles.
Here are Mexico’s immigration guidelines. Additionally,
In Mexico, each voter is provided with a government-supplied voter ID card, which includes the voter’s photograph, fingerprints, and a holographic image.
I suggest that the U.S. hold Mexican nationals to the same standards.
UPDATE:
In his speech, AMLO mentions union leader César Chávez,
recordamos a César Chávez, un luchador social excepcional, quien nos enseñó que la libertad no se implora, se conquista.
[my translation:] we remember César Chávez, an exceptional social warrior, who taught us that feedom is not begged, it is conquered.
AMLO’s speechwriters would do well to read up on U.S. born Chávez, who was fiercely opposed to illegal immigration, as it depressed farm union workers’ wages.