Mexico’s president guides supporters through the capital in March

MEXICO CITY — Two weeks after tens of thousands of Mexicans protested proposed electoral changes they say would undermine democracy, Mexico’s president marched through the capital on Sunday, surrounded by massive crowds, to rally popular support for his mandate demonstrate.

In an early foretaste of the 2024 presidential election, supporters of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, some traveling hundreds of kilometers by bus to the capital, arrived with Mexican flags, marching bands and even presidential-shaped stuffed animals as they filled the heart of the capital She sang, “It’s an honor to be with Obrador.”

Mexico’s political opposition and some members of civil society opposed the march, calling it a show of force by a leader they portrayed as an aspiring authoritarian using state resources — including welfare programs — to sustain his popularity.

The President has denied these allegations, but the influence that Mr. López Obrador has over many Mexicans was on full display on Sunday.

Some said they were there to show support for a president who has benefited them economically through social programs, although they were less aware of Mr López Obrador’s more specific policy goals – including the controversial electoral changes he hopes to be ratified .

The revision would give the president more control over Mexico’s electoral systems, but while Mexico’s Congress began discussing the proposal earlier this month, Mr. López Obrador does not have enough votes to pass it.

Opposition members fear that the President will try to push through the changes by other means before the end of the year. López Obrador has recently used presidential decrees to adopt some of his more controversial policies.

Sunday’s march was an offer by the president to show popular support for his overall mandate as well as his offer to overhaul the electoral system and increase his power over the body that oversees voting, the National Electoral Institute.

It came two weeks after a march to shield the institute from the changes attracted tens of thousands of supporters. This protest was the largest opposition march of this presidency.

Speaking to the crowd on Sunday afternoon, Mr López Obrador’s speech focused heavily on the social programs his government has put in place, while largely acknowledging the rising violence and deteriorating security situation that has plagued the country since he took office in 2018 bypassed. Approximately four years into his tenure term. The President maintains an approval rating of around 60 percent, making him one of the most popular leaders in the world.

“Love is repaid with love,” he said as he took the stage.

Mr López Obrador referred to the austerity program his government is pursuing, which employees said has resulted in some government employees having to bring their own toilet paper and drinking water to some government agencies. “In our government,” he said, “there is neither luxury nor extravagance.”

This has freed up more money to flow into the welfare system, although some independent economists say the programs are not being run as efficiently as they were during previous governments and are providing aid regardless of need.

On Sunday, the President’s supporters filled the 2.5-mile route from the Angel of Independence monument to the Zócalo, the seat of government where Mr. Lopez Obrador addressed a crowd of supporters at the end of the day.

Alfredo Ramirez Martínez, 56, a farmer who traveled about 300 miles by bus to Mexico City from the state of Oaxaca, said he came to support a president who is “helping the people who are most in need.” “.

But he said he was disappointed by the deteriorating security situation in his hometown. “There will always be,” he said.

Critics of Mr López Obrador said that he and his government had put pressure on Mexico’s powerful unions to take part in Sunday’s march, accusing the ruling party-ruled municipalities of urging citizens to take part and closing buses for transport to the capital pay.

“What the march shows is the fear of the president and his government: that is, losing power in the 2024 elections,” said Claudio X. González Laporte, a member of the political opposition who helped organize the protests earlier this month. “I believe we are dealing with an authoritarian man who is trying to retain power at any cost and is willing to circumvent the constitution and the law to do so.”

Although Mr. González agreed that the president maintained high approval ratings, he pointed to the loss of seats in Congress suffered by the ruling party during last year’s election.

The President claimed Sunday’s turnout was genuine.

Hundreds of members of Mexico’s major electricity and construction unions waved both their union and ruling party flags. Buses with signs of their origin were parked across the capital, protesters disembarked from the vehicles while mariachi bands serenaded the crowd and made their way to the Zócalo.

The opposition marches of recent weeks underscored a fractured Mexico, where over the past decade Mr. López Obrador has created a political party that has largely outmaneuvered its opposition. But the ruling party faces major obstacles ahead of the 2024 presidential election, including a flagging economy.

Mr López Obrador is constitutionally barred from running for a second term, but he is believed to be nominating a party stalwart as the presidential candidate so that he can maintain his influence if he resigns.

Magdalena Molina García, 62, a Mexico City homemaker, said she took part in Sunday’s march to voice her support for a president who has improved her and her family’s access to social programs, including a flagship aimed at younger Mexicans.

But Ms Molina said she does not support the president’s “hugs not bullets” security strategy. Mr. López Obrador used the phrase to describe a tactic to spend more to divert youth from the country’s powerful drug cartels and give them a more meaningful life.

Mexico’s president guides supporters through the capital in March

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