Obrador kicks of Campaign in TJ
August 12, 2005
Tijuana and Baja California News
AMLO Takes the North by Storm
Although the campaign hasn't even formally started, presidential candidate
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador kicked off a national promotional tour on August 11
in Tijuana. The former Mexico City mayor and virtual nominee of the center-left
Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) declared he picked Tijuana as the
start of his multi-city tour because the border city is "where the country
begins." Lopez Obrador, or "El Pejelagarto" as he is sometimes called,
attracted thousands of supporters to rallies in Tijuana, Mexicali, La Paz, and
Hermosillo on August 11 and 12. Diverse sectors of society turned out to greet
their man, including former braceros, environmentalists, and businessmen.
During his stops, Lopez Obrador touched on environmental, economic, social
welfare, justice, immigration, and transportation issues. The candidate pledged
to subsidize agriculture, end gasoline imports, build 500,000 houses during the
first 3 years of his presidency, and prioritize immigration issues with the
United States. While in Tijuana, Lopez Obrador declared he was against the
controversial natural gas terminals slated for the coasts of Baja California,
and promised to support tourism in the Sea of Cortez. Later, in Hermosillo,
Sonora, he announced he was in favor of a bullet train between Sonora and
Mexico City.
On the campaign trail, Lopez Obrador took pokes at figures ranging from Tijuana
Mayor Jorge Hank Rhon to President Vicente Fox. Criticizing politicians'
salaries as excessive, Lopez Obrador vowed to trim the pay checks of public
officials. "The municipal president, governors and the president of the
republic should not earn so much," he said. During the Tijuana leg of his trip,
Lopez Obrador reportedly was followed around by Mayor Hank's photographer,
Jorge Carabarin Urias, who tried to move about incognito.
On another theme, the son of Tabasco said he will analyze the role of the
Federal Attorney General's Office because every six years the national law
enforcement agency winds up being corrupted. The reception accorded Lopez
Obrador on his northern campaign swing is another sign that the popular
candidate is overcoming the historic weakness of his political party, the PRD,
in the northern border states. Like Vicente Fox's run in 2000, much of Lopez
Obrador's campaign is being organized by a parallel structure outside the
sponsoring party of the candidate, in this instance, the citizen's networks
established throughout Mexico by "El Peje's" partisans. The leading
presidential candidate continues his tour in the coming days, with visits
scheduled next week for Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua City.
Sources: El Universal, August 11, 2005. Frontera, August 12, 2005. Articles by
Daniel Salinas and Fausto Ovalle. El Imparcial, August 12, 2005. Article by
Francisco Reza.
Frontera NorteSur (FNS): on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news
Center for Latin American and Border Studies
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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