Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during his final presidential press conference on Monday, Sep. 30. Photo: Presidencia

By KELIN DILLON

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) bid farewell to his six-year presidential administration during his daily morning press conference on Monday, Sep. 30, just one day before the scheduled inauguration of his hand-picked successor, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum.

The federal executive, who entered office in 2018 as the first president of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party, shed tears at his final press conference as he was serenaded with a song crafted with lyrics recounting his history and hailing his achievements as president.

López Obrador’s six-year term has been a rollercoaster of controversies and achievements, both locally and internationally. The Morena leader has been hailed for pulling millions of Mexican citizens out of poverty and implementing widespread social programs nationwide. However, he has also faced backlash for his overt pushback against critics, failures to address  Mexico’s violent organized crime groups, expensive public works projects and efforts to dismantle the nation’s checks and balances system.

In terms of its economic impact, Mexico ended the AMLO administration with a straggling gross domestic product (GDP) compared to countries around the rest of the world. This comparison, particularly with Latin American countries, reveals the challenges faced by the Mexican economy during López Obrador’s presidency, as per newly released data from the World Bank.

Still, despite some contention around his presidential choices, López Obrador left office with a 68 percent approval rate – the highest final month approval rate seen by a Mexican president since Ernesto Zedillo completed his term in 2000.

Finally having completed his presidential service, AMLO officially handed over the presidency to Sheinbaum seconds before midnight Monday.