MEXICO CITY: Meet the president who has vowed to take a salary cut, live in his own home, sell off the presidential jets and turn his palace into a public park and art gallery.
Mexico’s president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador — who won the country’s election by a landslide — has promised to clamp down on corruption in the country and reduce Mexico’s staggering murder rate.
Lopez Obrador, said on Monday that he will aim to keep Mexico in the NAFTA trade pact and seek a frank dialogue and friendly ties with the United States.
The first leftist president elected in Mexico’s modern history said in his first post-election interview after Sunday’s vote that he will also stick with the pick for finance minister he named during the campaign.
Younger Mexicans, many of whom have grown up with rampant corruption and crippling drug violence, played a decisive role in choosing the country’s new direction.
Nearly 13 million voters between the ages of 18 and 23 were reported to have voted for the first time, according to election officials.
Lopez Obrador has criticized plans for a border wall proposed by Donald Trump in a book he wrote titled “Oye Trump,” or “Listen Trump.”
His was a populist platform and he promised to break what he calls the “grip” that elites — or the “power mafia” — have on Mexican society.
He said he would lower the salaries of top officials and give those at the bottom a pay increase.
‘Lower salaries, no private jets and palace to turn into an art gallery’: Mexico’s president promise
‘Lower salaries, no private jets and palace to turn into an art gallery’: Mexico’s president promise
