page_title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador
section_title: Political positions during campaign
hierarchical_section_title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador / Presidential campaign 2018 / Political positions during campaign
caption_attribution_description: Español: Visita de Salomón Jara y Andrés Manuel López Obrador a San Baltazar Chichicapam Oaxaca
context_page_description: Andrés Manuel López Obrador is the 58th and current President of Mexico, since 1 December 2018.
  Born in Tepetitán, in the municipality of Macuspana, in south-eastern state of Tabasco, López Obrador graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1986 following a hiatus from his studies to participate in politics. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science. He began his political career in 1976 as a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party in Tabasco. His first public position was as director of the Indigenous Institute of Tabasco in 1977, where he promoted the edition of books in indigenous language and the project of the Chontal ridge. In 1989, he joined the Party of the Democratic Revolution and was the party's 1994 candidate for Governor of Tabasco. He was the national leader of the PRD between 1996 and 1999. In 2000, he was elected Head of Government of Mexico City. He left the PRD in 2012 and in 2014 founded the National Regeneration Movement, which he led until 2017. Often described as a center-left progressive democrat and economic nationalist, López Obrador has been a national politician for more than three decades.
context_section_description: López Obrador has often been described as left-wing and populist. Other outlets have claimed that López Obrador toned down his rhetoric for the 2018 election. In his inauguration speech he came out strong against neoliberalism, calling it a "disaster" and a "calamity" for the country and promised a historic "transformation".
  López Obrador has made citizen forums, consultations, and referendums a key part of his decision-making process. Such consultations have been held on major infrastructure projects such as the construction of a new airport, an oil refinery, an electric plant, and the Mayan Train. Other consultations have been held on various social issues, and more are planned for the future—possibly including LGBTQ rights and amnesty for low-level drug offenders. He also plans a popular vote of confidence when he reaches the middle of his term in 2022. The consultations held in 2018 and 2019 have enjoyed overwhelming support (70% or more), but they have been criticized for low turnout (2% or less) and other reasons.
caption: Salomón Jara Cruz (left) and López Obrador (center) in San Baltazar Chichicapam, Oaxaca, in March 2016
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