MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- The Mexican bishops conference extended congratulations to presidential election winner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who won a landslide victory on an agenda of change and promises to combat corruption and poverty.
"We salute and congratulate with respect and closeness (Lopez Obrador)," the bishops said in a July 2 statement. "We are all called on to collaborate in a positive way with our elected authorities."
The statement called on citizens to pay attention to what might come in a Lopez Obrador administration, saying, "No ruler on their own has all the ideas and all the solutions. It is our responsibility to continue to participate civically, always with respect for human rights and the true common good."
Lopez Obrador, 64, won the most support in all but one of Mexico's 31 states and claimed approximately 53 percent of the vote, according to election officials. His tally is the highest total for a candidate since 1982, when the elections were not fully free and were marred by corruption. His MORENA party and its allies are projected to win majorities in Congress.
"No ruler on their own has all the ideas and all the solutions. It is our responsibility to continue to participate civically, always with respect for human rights and the true common good."
Left-leaning and populist but somewhat socially conservative, Lopez Obrador condemned corruption throughout his campaign, capitalizing on discontent over scandals engulfing the country's governors and even the president, whose wife purchased a $7 million home from a well-connected contractor. Other factors driving voter discontent included a murder rate that reached a record high in 2017, a sluggish economy and a sense that social mobility had stagnated.
"It was a punishment vote," said Father Raul Martinez, parish priest in the Diocese of Valle de Chalco on Mexico City's southeastern outskirts. "It's not just the corruption, but the shameless privileges they see politicians enjoying."
"People tell me, 'The country needs to change,'" Bishop Raul Vera Lopez of Saltillo told Catholic News Service prior to the election. "The people who I see, who are upset, say it's because they're tired of the country going backwards for the last 30 years. No one can say the contrary."
Lopez Obrador won the presidency on his third attempt. He ran on an agenda of putting "the poor first," but earlier lost after opponents ran attack ads comparing him to late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
AMLO, as Lopez Obrador is known, moderated his discourse in 2018 and focused more on corruption rather than inequality. He proposed an amnesty for those involved the illegal drug trade in low-level positions and said he would invite religious leaders and experts to a forum on how to address Mexico's shocking violence.
He promised austerity, cordial relations with the United States -- saying Mexico "won't do the dirty work of any foreign government," when speaking of stopping Central American migrants transiting the country on the way north -- and promised a stronger role for the state in economic matters.
Analysts said he also used social conservatism discourse, mentioning values and faith to moderate his image.
Lopez Obrador forged an alliance with the small Social Encounter Party, which was founded by evangelicals and opposes same-sex marriage and abortion, causing disquiet among some in his base.
Olga Sanchez Cordero, a former Mexico Supreme Court justice -- who as a judge voted to uphold laws decriminalizing abortion and legalizing same-sex marriage -- said in an interview that all existing laws would remain intact.
Hugo Valdemar Romero, former Archdiocese of Mexico City spokesman, said Lopez Obrador had a "close" relationship with Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, when the president-elect was mayor in the national capital from 2000 to 2005 and refused to push controversial social issues.
"Andres Manuel represents the left in the social sphere, not the moral sphere," Father Valdemar said.
I like this quote "It's not just the corruption, but the shameless privileges they see politicians enjoying."
Taurus - Gemini
It will be interesting to see how he plans to lift the poor out of poverty. There is only one tried and true way and it is slow. Have him talk to Trump. We have record employment.
Catholic countries are both poor and violent places. It is not the Catholic religion but the way the Catholic Church has tried to become involved in social and economic policies using so called Catholic Social Teaching.
As an imperfect Catholic, I'm cautiously optimistic about the election of Lopez Obrador. I:m a former long-time Democrat of more than thirty years, who in 2011_became a registered Independent because neither party fully represented my views. About four years ago, I_reluctantly became a registered Republican although I disagree with many typical Republican policies. I oppose capital punishment (I have a pen pal who's_serving a life sentence for a serious crime), support stringent gun control laws (when my Dad died I discovered a handgun in his bank safety deposit box, which I immediately turned into my local police department) and support reasonable laws and regulations to protect our environment (on occasion, I make modest contributions to the Catholic Climate Covenant). I also support reasonable government assistance to the millions of Americans in need. Among others, these include people who are disabled (I'm a retired Special Education teacher), homeless, senior citizens (my loving Mom is 83; I live in a nursing home where many of the people are well over 90), veterans, the mentally ill (I know several such people, one of whom is a friend), the seriously ill (my dear aunt died from brain cancer in 1994), people who are addicted to illegal or legal drugs (,years ago I had an acquaintance who was addicted to drugs whom I visited in a local drug rehabilitation center), as well as victims of human trafficking (on occasion I make modest contributions to a home in Philadelphia that provides services for women who have been forced into prostitution). Although I'm_not a pacifist, I respect their convictions. I favor war only as a last resort after all diplomatic efforts have been exhausted. Civilians must never be deliberately targeted, and nuclear weapons must never be used). I also favor, in time, the establishment of a Palestinian state. This will be dificult, but both Israel and the Palestinians must compromise in my opinion. Israel must cede some occupied territory, while maintaining secure national borders. Also, Palestinians must renounce terrorism and affirm the right of Israel to exist. Finally, I believe that our government and other Western nations should provide humanitarian assistance to people in need. However, although I'm gay and have a gay friend, I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. As I believe is stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, gay people must be treated with respect and compassion. I_appreciate that Pope Francis has both upheld Church teaching on marriage, while displaying a compassionate attitude towards gay men and women. Also, I support the restoration of legal protection to the innocent unborn, except under the rare circumstances needed to prevent the death of the pregnant woman. I believe that those of us who are pro-life must not only work to pass laws to help reduce the violence of abortion, but must redouble our efforts to support the hundreds of crisis pregnancy centers which provide pregnant women and their babies with practical, compassionate assistance. When I 'm. able, I make modest contributions to two such centers. One is "The Mother's Home" in my suburban Philadelphia county. The home, which is a former convent, provides shelter and other services to pregnant women and their children . Also, probably the most comprehensive center in terms of services that I contribute to when I'm able is "Mom's House." This is a network of about six homes which provide low-income pregnant women with free day care so that they can complete their education. Although I firmly oppose legal abortion, I believe I have sympathy for women with unplanned or difficult pregnancies. A good friend of mine at age 19 and in college found out that his 17 year old girlfriend who was a senior in high school was pregnant. Despite the difficulty involved in being fairly young, unmarried, and expectant parents, my friend's girlfriend (who soon became my friend) chose life and have birth to their son one month after she graduated from high school and turned 18. I was glad to assist them by babysitting as frequently as I could, and sometimes buying clothes and toys for their son. Nine months after the birth of their son, they got married. After some time, my friend graduated from college and became a civil engineer. His wife also graduated from college and became a pharmacist. I'm_glad that President Lopez Obrador opposes legal abortion as an act of killing, and I also hope that in addition to his anti-abortion efforts that he can increase employment in Mexico as well as reduce the number of people murdered. My friend who became a pharmacist has a sister who had an abortion because of an unplanned. pregnancy. Although I certainly disagree with her decision, I don't_harbor feelings of "hatred" towards her. In fact, we both for a number of years enjoyed caring for her nephew. Some years later, she gave birth to a baby girl, and raised her as a single mother. Finally, the Church for a number of years has had a ministry, Project Rachel, to help bring peace and consolation to women who've had abortions. I believe that there are members of the clergy of other faiths who are pleased to offer post-abortion counseling and care to women of their faith. I strongly believe that by an ecumenical effort to assist pregnant women in a variety of effective, practical compassionate ways that we can help both them as well as save the lives of their unborn babies.