Live music, breakfast and a raffle: Mexico's president makes the most of his final day in office
By MARÍA VERZA
Posted 9/30/24
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador turned his final morning briefing Monday into a variety show featuring live music, breakfast and a raffle to gift his watch to a …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
Live music, breakfast and a raffle: Mexico's president makes the most of his final day in office
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador unveils his portrait at the National Palace after giving his last morning press conference, "La Mañanera," in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Posted
By MARÍA VERZA
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador turned his final morning briefing Monday into a variety show featuring live music, breakfast and a raffle to gift his watch to a journalist.
“I dedicated myself to serve the people,” the 70-year-old leader said. “I leave very satisfied to have the affection of many Mexicans.”
Outside the National Palace, hundreds of boisterous supporters of the folksy populist showered him with love while mariachis gave a brassy serenade.
Despite having historically high approval ratings and majorities in Congress, López Obrador never proposed changing the constitution to open the possibility of a second six-year term as other Latin American leaders have. He did, however, push through sweeping constitutional changes for the judiciary and the country’s National Guard in his final days.
Monday was his 1,438th morning briefing, a radical change he brought to the presidency after years of less accessible leaders. His briefings, known as “las mañaneras,” set the day’s agenda and gave journalists the opportunity to ask questions, though López Obrador addressed what he wanted — and ignored what he didn’t.
On Monday, he talked about his achievements — as he has for the past six years — noting that today someone earning the minimum wage can buy twice as many kilograms of tortillas and eggs as they could before because he raised that wage and beat back inflation.
After the briefing, some reporters — who became regular fixtures at the “mañaneras” and didn’t hide their support for López Obrador, gave interviews to other journalists. Some shouted that they wanted to give the president parting gifts or take a final selfie with him. The reporter who won the president’s watch leaped euphorically from his seat when his name was called.
After Tuesday’s inauguration, as he has promised many times, López Obrador will retire to his ranch in the southern state of Chiapas and leave public life.