This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador was recently sworn in as Mexico’s 58th president, but will the recent regime change result in a “Feliz Navidad” for the country as a whole and Mexico-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs)? Early signs point to “yes” as President AMLO, his more familiar moniker, has taken early steps in the right direction. The [...] </s> Anti-establishment leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will be sworn in as Mexico's next president on Saturday -- a dramatic change in direction for a country fed up with corruption, poverty and crime.

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The man widely known as "AMLO" is promising a sweeping "transformation" after 89 years of government by the same two parties.

And he appears to have the mandate he needs to deliver it: he won a landslide victory in the July 1 elections, together with strong majorities in both houses of Congress for his coalition -- led by the party he founded just four years ago, Morena.

It was the biggest win for any president, and the first for a leftist, since Mexico transitioned to a multi-party democracy in 2000.

But the sharp-tongued, silver-haired leader inherits a sticky set of problems from his unpopular predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto.

They include endemic corruption, gruesome violence fueled by the war on drug cartels, and the caravan of 6,000 Central American migrants camped at the US-Mexican border -- not to mention the minefield that diplomacy with Mexico's giant northern neighbor has become under President Donald Trump.

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Lopez Obrador, a 65-year-old former protest leader and Mexico City mayor, has been short on specifics regarding his plans for all of the above.

Critics accuse him of being an authoritarian radical.

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And despite his promises of fiscal responsibility and business-friendly policies, the markets are fearful for the future of Latin America's second-largest economy: Mexican stocks and the peso have plunged in recent weeks.

Dismissing such fears, Lopez Obrador is promising a presidency like no other in Mexican history.

Vowing to lead his anti-corruption, pro-austerity drive by example, he plans to forego the presidential residence and live in his modest home, sell the presidential jet and fly commercial instead, cut his own salary by 60 percent, and eliminate the presidential security detail.

- Change in style - After taking the oath of office, Lopez Obrador will head to Mexico City's central square, the Zocalo, to receive a chieftain's staff and give a speech -- it's the same place where he celebrated his election victory in July 2018, as seen here. [AFP/File / PEDRO PARDO]

His inauguration will also look different from that of any previous president.

After taking the oath of office and slipping on the presidential sash before Congress -- the usual ceremony -- Lopez Obrador plans to go to Mexico City's central square, the Zocalo, to receive a chieftain's staff, in a colorful new take on a traditional indigenous ceremony.

A massive crowd of supporters is expected at the square where, in between a series of concerts by famous musicians, Lopez Obrador will give a second speech from the National Palace.

That long-disused seat of power is where the new president plans to install his offices -- sending a message on the kind of change he represents.

With a history that dates back to Aztec times and walls covered in murals by iconic painter and communist Diego Rivera, the palace is a far cry from the current presidential headquarters, Los Pinos -- a sprawling complex that sits in a leafy park, isolated from the bustle of the capital.

The guest list includes a host of regional presidents -- one of whom, to the chagrin of Mexico's conservative opposition, is crisis-torn Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro -- King Felipe VI of Spain, and US Vice President Mike Pence, accompanied by his boss's daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump. Map of the US-Mexico border -- Donald Trump is pressuring new Mexican leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to accept a deal to keep asylum-seeking migrants in Mexico while their claims are processed in the United States. [AFP/File / AFP]

President Trump, who is at the G20 summit in Argentina, has struck up a surprisingly warm relationship with Lopez Obrador so far -- though the migrant caravan threatens to interrupt that honeymoon.

The American president is pressuring Lopez Obrador to accept a deal to keep asylum-seeking migrants in Mexico while their claims are processed in the United States.

Lopez Obrador's foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, is due in Washington on Sunday for talks on the issue with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

ALSO READ: US to sign free trade deal in Argentina </s> Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took the oath of office Saturday as Mexico's first leftist president in over 70 years, marking a turning point in one of the world's most radical experiments in opening markets and privatization.In his first speech to Congress, Lopez Obrador pledged "a peaceful and orderly transition, but one that is deep and radical ... because we will end the corruption and impunity that prevent Mexico's rebirth."Mexico long had a closed, state-dominated economy, but since entering the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs in 1986, it has signed more free trade agreements than almost any other country, and privatized almost every corner of the economy except oil and electricity.Now, though, Lopez Obrador talks a talk not heard in Mexico since the 1960s: He wants to build more state-owned oil refineries and encourages Mexicans to "not to buy abroad, but to produce in Mexico what we consume."Even so, Lopez Obrador has tried to send conciliatory gestures to financial markets, which have been roiled in the weeks before he took office."I promise, and I'm a man of my word, that the investments of foreign and international investors will be safe, and we will even create conditions that will allow them to get good returns," he said, "because in Mexico there will be honesty, rule of law, clear rules, economic growth and confidence."But he also harkened back to his hero, President Lazaro Cardenas, who nationalized the oil industry and redistributed land during his 1934-40 administration."We are going to govern for everyone, but we are going to give preference to the most impoverished and vulnerable," Lopez Obrador said. "For the good of all, the poor come first.'"The first foreign dignitaries that Lopez Obrador greeted were U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump."I want to say that since July 1, the day I was elected, I have received respectful treatment from President Donald Trump", Lopez Obrador said.But he faces a challenge with a caravan of thousands of Central American migrants camped out on the border, which Trump had threatened to close to keep them out.Lopez Obrador said he wanted to reach an agreement with the governments and companies in the U.S. and Canada to develop Central America and southern Mexico, so people wouldn't have to migrate - "to address in that way, and not with coercive measures, the migration phenomenon."That appeared to be an acknowledgment that Mexico is prepared to house migrants waiting to make asylum claims in the United States in exchange for U.S. development aid."The only person he (Lopez Obrador) can't afford to get in a fight with is Trump, because he knows he could derail his plan," said author and columnist Raymundo Riva Palacio. "He is willing to do the dirty work for them."Lopez Obrador was clear in blaming extreme market-oriented policies he calls neoliberalism for Mexico's problems."Mexico's crisis originated not only with the failure of the neoliberal policies applied over the last 36 years," he said in his inaugural speech, "but also in the prevalence of the filthiest corruption."Mexico's richest man, telecom magnate Carlos Slim, appeared to welcome the new president's pledge to rein in wasteful spending and fight corruption, saying: "Everybody wants spending to be efficiently managed."The rowdiest response from Congress came when Lopez Obrador pledged "not to persecute officials of past administrations," saying "revenge is not my strong suit."Legislators responded by counting loudly to 43 - the number of students kidnapped and disappeared in September 2014 - to remind Lopez Obrador of his promise to establish a truth commission to find out what happened to the students. He repeated that pledge Saturday. Prosecutors have said the students were kidnapped by corrupt police and turned over to a drug gang that killed them and burned their bodies.Lopez Obrador pledged to personally oversee daily 6 a.m. security briefings to confront the rising tide of violence in Mexico, and pledged to ban both oil and gas fracking and genetically modified crops.Combined with a deep sense of nationalism and his own place in history, Lopez Obrador's inauguration is the most home-grown, populist handover of power in decades.He was formally anointed leader by indigenous groups at a ceremony later in the day at Mexico City's main square. Mexico has more than 70 indigenous communities, and Lopez Obrador has pledged to end centuries of poverty and marginalization for them.Traditional healers brushed Lopez Obrador with bunches of herbs and blew incense smoke over him to purify him. They then invoked the spirits of their ancestors and the land to liberate him from any bad influences, turning to the four cardinal points with individual prayers.Activist Carmen Santiago Alonso then handed him a ceremonial wooden staff denoting leadership. It was the first time a Mexican president had ever taken part in this kind of ceremonial inauguration by indigenous groups."What we want, what we desire is to purify public life in Mexico," Lopez Obrador said. "I repeat my commitment: I will not lie, I will not steal or betray the people of Mexico."The country's 65-year-old new leader is moving the presidential office fully back to the centuries-old National Palace that lines one side of the square, while refusing to live at the luxurious, heavily guarded presidential residence 6 miles (9 kilometers) to the west. He will reside instead at his private home.Closed to the public since the first parts were built in the 1930s, the compound will now be used for public events and it was thrown open to the public Saturday.Gabriela Barrientos, a retired secretary, and Jesus Basilio, a market vendor, were among the first to line up at the gate to enter what Basilio called "the house of the people, an emblematic place we will be able to enter for the first time."Yaneth Fierro, a housewife from Acapulco, expressed amazement at the luxury of the compound - there was a small cinema in the basement of one building - but disappointment at completely emptied rooms. "We wanted to see the furniture, but the 'Gaviota' (the nickname of former first lady Angelica Rivera) took them all."The handover of power began at midnight when new Cabinet secretaries were sworn in for key security posts - a tradition meant to ensure there's always someone at the helm of the army, navy and Interior Department, the country's top domestic security agency.New Interior Secretary Olga Sanchez Cordero said in a post-midnight ceremony that the new government will "listen to everybody, the majority and the minorities, because in a democracy all opinions can be expressed."Lopez Obrador gained prominence as a leftist politician leading protests against oil pollution in his swampy native state of Tabasco, though he hasn't given any indication that he will cancel private oil exploration contracts or pull out of Mexico's free trade agreements with 44 countries.Lopez Obrador won a crushing victory in the July 1 elections after two previous, unsuccessful runs for the presidency and he is the country's first president since the Mexican Revolution to rise to prominence as a protest leader. He sees his inauguration as a historic "fourth transformation" of Mexico, following independence from Spain, the liberal reforms that broke the church's dominance in the 1850s and the 1910-1917 revolution.Lopez Obrador's predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto, leaves office with a historically low approval rating, which in several polls ranged from 20 percent to 24 percent. Pena Nieto failed to rein in Mexico's rising homicide rate or deal with thousands of Central American migrants camped out on the border, leaving both intractable issues as the biggest immediate challenges facing Lopez Obrador. </s> Donald Trump has congratulated the new leader of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, saying that he told him several years ago that he would become president. </s> MEXICO CITY — Andrés Manuel López Obrador took the reins of governance here on Saturday, becoming the most left-wing president Mexico has had in its modern history — and assuming office at a time of growing frustration among Mexicans and high expectations for change.

In his first speech to Congress, Lopez Obrador pledged “a peaceful and orderly transition, but one that is deep and radical ... because we will end the corruption and impunity that prevent Mexico’s rebirth.”

Tired of the rampant corruption that plagues all levels of government, as well as sky-high violence, Mexicans voted overwhelmingly for AMLO, as López Obrador is known, giving him a landslide victory.

During his campaign, López Obrador vowed to crack down on corruption, called for economic austerity and pledged to slash his own salary — ditching the presidential jet is also in his plans — and cap other public officials’ pay. López Obrador, 64, a former Mexico City mayor, criticized his opponents during the campaign, calling them “the mafia in power.”

Some have even compared López Obrador to Donald Trump for insisting on putting national concerns first. Mexico is Latin America’s second-largest economy and a major trading partner of the U.S.

Many Mexicans have high expectations for López Obrador, who is limited to one six-year term, with no shot at re-election. A recent poll by the newspaper El Financiero indicated he has a 66 percent approval rating, while outgoing President Enrique Peña Nieto has only 26 percent.

“His supporters are looking for him to be the president of a new era in Mexico," said Jason Marczak, director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. "He will also face the challenge of having to deliver quick wind for supporters who are incredibly anxious and eager of what his presidency might be."

Many crimes committed go unpunished in Mexico, where the murder rate is at a record high. Corruption and crime are not new, but AMLO capitalized on it as a left-leaning populist, campaigning on curbing violence by tackling poverty and inequality, which he vowed to uphold in his speech on Saturday.

In Mexico, even those who did not vote for him are expressing hope that he will bring positive change.

Graciela Romero, a business owner in a middle-class Mexico City neighborhood, is a supporter of the center-right PAN party. Her top issue is the economy, and she's upset that she has had to increase the price of the fruits and vegetables she sells to counter rising fuel prices.

“We are a rich country, yet we pay so much for gasoline,” she said.

López Obrador plans to revive Mexico’s oil industry by building a new refinery.

Nearly all of Mexico’s massive fuel imports come from the U.S. The refinery is also part of his agenda to focus on projects in the county’s more impoverished and underdeveloped region in the southeast, including his home state of Tabasco.

Jesús Hernández Tolentino, 48, a taxi driver from Mexico City, rents the car he uses for work at $15 a day. After paying for gas, his daily income is around $11. He said the price of gasoline was going up under the government of Peña Nieto.

“López Obrador has mentioned he is going to build a refinery and that the price of gasoline is going to decrease, and that is what we are hoping for,” Tolentino said. He has supported López Obrador’s political party since it was founded in 2014 and voted for him in all three elections he ran in.

Nervous investors have watched López Obrador’s transition period closely. Weeks before taking office, markets were rattled by announcements that the incoming administration would cancel a partially built $13 billion airport and impose limits on bank commissions.

AMLO tried to assuage those worries in his inaugural address.

“I promise, and I’m a man of my word, that the investments of foreign and international investors will be safe, and we will even create conditions that will allow them to get good returns,” he said, “because in Mexico there will be honesty, rule of law, clear rules, economic growth and confidence.”

But he made clear his agenda trying to narrow the nation's inequality.

“We are going to govern for everyone, but we are going to give preference to the most impoverished and vulnerable,” Lopez Obrador said. “For the good of all, the poor come first.’”

The rise of López Obrador comes at a time when Latin America has been moving towards right-wing leaders.

López Obrador campaigned for over 15 years as a leftist, defending the poor and was elected under his own political party. Traditionally Mexican politics were dominated by three parties: the centrist PRI, the conservative PAN, and the leftist PRD.

But it was the MORENA party that won Lopez Obrador a landslide victory. His MORENA party also won a majority in Congress, allowing him more freedom to change policy.

“He has enormous power,” said Eric Olson, a director at the Seattle International Foundation and advisor to the Woodrow Wilson Center. “Hopefully, he will use it for the good. But those are always risky situations as well.”

A key move to help combat corruption would be to have an independent attorney general, said Olson.

“That proposal has been on the table for a long time. But it’s not clear yet whether he will accept that the attorney general will be independent of the president,” he said.

A new NAFTA deal signed on Friday at the G20 meeting — called United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) — cleared a major obstacle for López Obrador, allowing him to focus on his domestic agenda. López Obrador had been a critic of the 1994 NAFTA, saying it had not done enough to improve the lives of Mexican workers.

But recognizing the importance of economic and financial-market stability, he praised the renegotiated USMCA deal.

The first foreign dignitaries that Lopez Obrador greeted as he took office were U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump.

“I want to say that since July 1, the day I was elected, I have received respectful treatment from President Donald Trump”, Lopez Obrador said.

How López Obrador handles relations with Trump, who has sparred with Mexico over calls for a border wall, will be closely watched.

The recent migrant caravan, that has resulted in over 5,000 Central Americans camped out in a sports complex in Tijuana, recently presented López Obrador with a difficult task — appease Trump while upholding his position of defending the poor.

AMLO signaled on Tuesday he would be willing to house the migrants on Mexican soil while they apply for asylum in the U.S. — something Trump has demanded.

He also called on Trump to contribute to development projects to help create jobs in Central America to help stem the flow of migrants.

If Central American migrants continue to make their way to Mexico in large numbers for years to come, it could erupt into a political crisis for López Obrador.

But for the majority of Mexicans, Central American migrants are not top of mind.

Vanessa Calderón, 22, a third-year medical school student, has already decided she does not want to have children as she weighs what she sees around her and what she thinks is coming.

“There is going to be more insecurity, more unemployment, and I think more violence and intolerance,” said Calderón.

She did not vote for López Obrador, though most of her family did. Yet, she is still hopeful.

“With him, we hope there is change," she said. "I, as a young person, do not expect anything from the Mexican government because each time, we go from bad to worse.”

Olson said López Obrador “has created enormous expectations by talking about his government as the ‘fourth great era in Mexican history.’ When you talk in that kind of grandiose way, you worry that expectations are too high.”

Christopher Alvarez reported from Mexico City, and Carmen Sesín from Miami. The Associated Press contributed to this report </s> (CNN) — Mexico swore in leftist leader Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as AMLO, Saturday before a crowd that included world leaders and a strong majority in both houses of Congress.

López Obrador won a landslide victory in the July 1 presidential election and began his his six-year term promising to carry out a strong fight against corruption, insisting that the issue has been Mexico’s worst nightmare.

“Nothing has harmed Mexico more that the dishonesty of the rulers,” he said.

During his swearing-in, López Obrador reaffirmed his intentions to sell Mexico’s official presidential plane, to not live in the presidential palace and to cut his presidential salary by 40%. In an extraordinary move, López Obrador also announced his intention to promote a recall referendum during his administration, adding the promise that he “will never seek reelection.”

Promises also came with criticisms Saturday. López Obrador criticized the neoliberal model that has governed the Mexican economy in recent decades, saying that such policy “has been a disaster.”

López Obrador also criticized his unpopular predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, for introducing “harmful” economic strategies and announced immediate public investment to rescue state oil and electricity industries while proposing the creation of a special economic zone with lower taxes along Mexico’s border with the United States.

The leftist leader thanked the United States for sending Vice President Mike Pence and first daughter Ivanka Trump to his inauguration, stating that since winning the presidential election, he has been treated respectfully by President Donald Trump.

López Obrador also thanked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, stating he would like to reach an agreement with both Canada and the United States to tackle immigration issues.

At one point, the ceremony turned disruptive after López Obrador acknowledged Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro causing loud protests from a group of legislators holding a banner with the inscription “Maduro, you are not welcome” while chanting “dictator, dictator.” The feud lasted for a couple of minutes, even as López Obrador continued saluting other dignitaries. </s> Andrés Manuel López Obrador showed a sneak preview of his ruling style during a busy transition period, one filled with broken promises and big changes.

MEXICO CITY — Five months after winning in a landslide victory that set off a wave of euphoria in the country and engaging in a flurry of activity on par with that of a sitting head of state, Andrés Manuel López Obrador will finally be sworn into office Saturday as the 63rd president of Mexico. López Obrador, a headstrong leftist who traveled the length of the country painting himself as a father figure for Mexico with his message in favor of the disenfranchised during two previous failed presidential runs, wasted no time attempting to set Mexico on track with his vision even before taking the reins. “This is the busiest transition we’ve ever had,” said Hernán Gómez Bruera, a political analyst. “It’s totally unique and that has pros and cons.” If recent months are any indication of how he will govern, López Obrador can be expected to backpedal on key campaign promises made to his base — including vows to crack down on corruption and pull the military off the streets — in order to focus on other parts of an ambitious domestic agenda that the incoming president has described as a "transformation" on par with the Mexican Revolution and independence from Spain. On Monday, a poll by El Universal newspaper revealed that López Obrador’s approval had fallen by 9 points, from 65% to 56%, during the previous three months. Another survey by El Financiero, also published Monday, set his approval rating at 66%, compared to outgoing president Enrique Peña Nieto’s 26% approval. “There is a certain level of disenchantment,” said Carlos Luis Sánchez y Sánchez, an expert in public opinion at Mexico’s National Autonomous University. “He has spent the honeymoon that most presidents get during the first hundred days in office even before starting his mandate.”

That mandate will be unprecedented: The party that López Obrador founded, Morena, will hold a majority over both houses of Congress, as well as the majority of state-level legislatures. Some critics view this as a blank check for López Obrador to make controversial — and potentially divisive — decisions when confronting the challenges his administration will face, including a growing murder epidemic, widespread poverty, a shaky currency and fear among foreign investors, and a deepening immigration crisis that could set him on a collision course with Trump. Despite this, López Obrador has said he wants the people’s will to govern his decision-making. To make that happen, he has announced he will be holding “public consultations” throughout his six-year term. But based on the two referendums his team has carried out in recent months, the practice could erode his administration’s legitimacy. On Nov. 12, López Obrador traveled to Mérida, in Yucatán state, to meet with the governors of the states through which one of his signature projects, a 900-mile railway line connecting tourist destinations in southern Mexico, would pass. That day, the group announced that construction for the project would begin in December, despite concerns from academics and environmentalists. The plebiscite for the train was still almost two weeks away, making the vote something of a moot point. His first referendum, on whether to continue building the new Mexico City airport, was plagued with procedural errors and tiny participation (barely 1% of the electorate took part in the exercise, and people reported voting numerous times in different polling stations). Still, the president-elect slashed the project, deepening investors’ previous fears about López Obrador’s interactions with businesses and causing the peso to tumble. While he has sought to bring his signature projects to life at all costs, López Obrador has at the same time reversed his position on several campaign promises. Despite vowing to end graft as a pillar of his campaign, he announced this month that rather than prosecute politicians who committed acts of corruption before Dec. 1, he will issue a pardon for them. (He gave no details on what that would look like.)

And while he ran on the catchy motto of “hugs, not bullets” and vowed to remove Mexico’s military from the streets, López Obrador said this month that he will propose amending the constitution to allow for the creation of a national guard, a force of 50,000 military and federal police under the command of the army, tasked with pacifying the country. Experts say the national guard marks a continuation, and perhaps a deepening, of his predecessors’ failed military strategy against drug cartels. Perhaps, security analyst Alejandro Hope told BuzzFeed News, López Obrador is already feeling the pressure and looking for the quickest way out. “It unsettles him to know that the number of homicide victims will start piling up on December 1st,” said Hope. López Obrador, who proved himself intractable during his time as mayor of Mexico City and after his first failed presidential run, began to show an incipient flexibility during his last campaign, embracing a more inclusive discourse. Signs that the trait could become a permanent part of his personality emerged during the transition too. For months, López Obrador said he would forgo security because “the people would protect” him. After a lengthy campaign by his wife, Beatriz Gutiérrez, to convince him to accept a security detail, López Obrador at last gave in. This recent conciliatory streak could come in handy when dealing with one of his biggest challenges: Trump. While he once referred to Trump as “arrogant” and a “show off,” López Obrador has managed to forge a cordial, even friendly relationship with his US counterpart. In a July letter to Trump, López Obrador said they should seek a “common path” and urged him to conclude the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The US, Mexico, and Canada signed off on the new deal Friday — but it still needs to get approval from the US Congress.

Throughout the transition period, López Obrador’s team has already been forging ties with Trump’s team. After the migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana in early November, BuzzFeed News reported that the Trump administration was holding talks with the Mexican government on a proposal that would force people to wait in Mexico for their immigration cases to be processed. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has already met with incoming foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard twice — once on Oct. 19 and then again the following month. Trump has asked Mexico to stop the caravans; López Obrador has promised to offer jobs and visas to Central Americans who flee rampant poverty and widespread insecurity in their countries. “He won’t fight with Trump unless it’s absolutely necessary,” said Bruera. “If the tone changes, it will be Trump’s fault, not López Obrador’s.” </s> MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s Lower House on Thursday approved a constitutional reform that would allow for referendums to cut short the six-year presidential term, a move opposition lawmakers say opens the door to allowing re-election to the nation’s highest office.

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks to the media during a news conference to announce a plan to strengthen finances of state oil firm Pemex, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Romero

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office on Dec. 1, said during the campaign that he would hold a referendum on his performance at the middle of his term and would cut it short if he loses the consultation.

Lopez Obrador’s MORENA party and its allies hold majorities in both chambers of Congress. The constitutional reform received the required support of two thirds of lawmakers in the Lower House. It now goes to the Senate for discussion and a vote.

“These changes will allow the Executive (branch) an intense political campaign in a shameless way in 2021 just when this chamber and 13 governorships are renewed,” said opposition lawmaker Xavier Azuara, from the PAN party.

It is a “path to re-election,” Azuara said.

Recent polls have shown Lopez Obrador has the support of almost four out of every five voters.

The constitutional reform also makes it easier to hold popular referendums, which Lopez Obrador has used to put infrastructure projects and other social programs to a vote by citizens.

That practice has riled markets since the leftist party swept to power last year.

In October, Lopez Obrador pulled the plug on a part-built, $13 billion new airport for the capital after citizens voted down the project.

Only about 1 percent of the Mexican electorate participated in the referendum, and critics slammed the process as unfair. Mexico’s stock exchange and peso tumbled after the decision was announced. </s> Mexico City — Andrés Manuel López Obrador takes the reins of governance on Saturday, becoming the most left-wing president Mexico has had in modern history. This comes at a time of growing frustration among Mexicans and high expectations for change.

Tired of the rampant corruption that plagues all levels of government as well as sky-high violence, Mexicans voted overwhelmingly for AMLO, as he is known, who won in a landslide.

During his campaign, López Obrador vowed to crack down on corruption. He called for austerity and pledged to slash his own salary and cap other public officials’ pay. Ditching the presidential jet is also in the plans of the 64-year-old former Mexico City mayor. He criticized his opponents, calling them “the mafia in power.”

Some have even compared López Obrador to Donald Trump for insisting to put national concerns first.

López Obrador will serve a six-year term, without possibility of reelection. Mexico is Latin America’s second largest economy and a major trading partner of the U.S.

Many Mexicans have high expectations for the new president. A recent poll by the newspaper El Financiero indicated López Obrador has a 66 percent approval rating, while outgoing President Enrique Peña Nieto has only 26 percent.

“His supporters are looking for him to be the president of a new era in Mexico. He will also face the challenge of having to deliver quick wind for supporters who are incredibly anxious and eager of what his presidency might be,” said Jason Marczak, director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center.

Many crimes committed go unpunished in this country with a record high murder rate. Corruption and crime are not new to Mexico, but AMLO capitalized on it as a left-leaning populist, campaigning on curbing violence by tackling poverty and inequality.

In Mexico, even those who did not vote for him are expressing hope he will bring positive change.

Graciela Romero, a business owner in a middle-class Mexico City neighborhood, is a supporter of the center-right PAN party. Her top issue is the economy. She's upset she's had to increase the price of the fruits and vegetables she sells to counter more expensive fuel prices.

“We are a rich country, yet we pay so much for gasoline,” she said.

López Obrador plans to revive Mexico’s oil industry by building a new oil refinery.

Nearly all of Mexico’s massive fuel imports come from the U.S. The refinery is also part of his agenda to focus on projects in the county’s more impoverished and underdeveloped region in the southeast, including his home state of Tabasco.

Jesús Hernández Tolentino, 48, a taxi driver from Mexico City, rents the car he uses for work at $15 a day. After paying for gas, his daily income is around $11. He said the price of gasoline was going up under the government of Peña Nieto.

“López Obrador has mentioned he is going to build a refinery and that the price of gasoline is going to decrease and that is what we are hoping for,” Tolentino said. He has supported López Obrador’s political party since it was founded in 2014 and voted for him in all three elections he ran in.

Nervous investors have watched López Obrador’s transition period closely. Weeks before taking office, markets were rattled by announcements that the incoming administration would cancel a partially-built $13 billion airport and impose limits on bank commissions.

The rise of López Obrador comes at a time when Latin America has been moving towards right-wing leaders.

López Obrador campaigned for over 15 years as a leftist, defending the poor and was elected under his own political party. Traditionally Mexican politics were dominated by three parties: the centrist PRI, the conservative PAN, and the leftist PRD.

But it was the MORENA party that won Lopez Obrador a landslide victory. His MORENA party also won a majority in Congress, allowing him more freedom to change policy.

“He has enormous power,” said Eric Olson, a director at the Seattle International Foundation and advisor to the Woodrow Wilson Center. “Hopefully, he will use it for the good. But those are always risky situations as well.”

A key move to help combat corruption would be to have an independent attorney general, said Olson.

“That proposal has been on the table for a long time. But it’s not clear yet whether he will accept that the attorney general will be independent of the president,” he said.

A new NAFTA deal — called United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) — reached in October cleared a major obstacle for López Obrador, allowing him to focus on his domestic agenda. López Obrador had been a critic of the 1994 NAFTA, saying it had not done enough to improve the lives of Mexican workers.

But recognizing the importance of economic and financial-market stability, he praised the renegotiated USMCA deal.

How López Obrador handles relations with Trump, who has sparred with Mexico over calls for a border wall, will be closely watched.

The recent migrant caravan, that has resulted in over 5,000 Central Americans camped out in a sports complex in Tijuana, recently presented López Obrador with a difficult task — appease Trump while upholding his position of defending the poor.

AMLO signaled on Tuesday he would be willing to house the migrants on Mexican soil while they apply for asylum in the U.S. — something Trump has demanded.

He also called on Trump to contribute to development projects to help create jobs in Central America to help stem the flow of migrants.

If Central American migrants continue to make their way to Mexico in large numbers for years to come, it could erupt into a political crisis for López Obrador.

But for the majority of Mexicans, Central American migrants are not top of mind.

Vanessa Calderón, 22, a third-year medical school student, has already decided she does not want to have children as she weighs what she sees around her and what she thinks is coming.

“There is going to be more insecurity, more unemployment, and I think more violence and intolerance,” said Calderón.

She did not vote for López Obrador, though most of her family did. Yet, she is still hopeful.

“With him, we hope there is change," she said. "I, as a young person, do not expect anything from the Mexican government because each time, we go from bad to worse.”

Olson said López Obrador “has created enormous expectations by talking about his government as the ‘fourth great era in Mexican history.’ When you talk in that kind of grandiose way, you worry that expectations are too high.”

Christopher Alvarez reported from Mexico and Carmen Sesín reported from Miami.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador is sworn in as the 58th President of Mexico.