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Mexico President Says ‘Pass’ on Coronavirus Vaccine

By Adam Dick | Ron Paul Institute | April 6, 2021

Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has distinguished himself among top national political leaders across the world by not freaking out over coronavirus. Instead, López Obrador has gone his own way with actions including choosing to usually not wear a mask and criticizing other nations’ political leaders for “acting like dictators” in their imposing of coronavirus-related mandates.

Now comes news of López Obrador again going directly against the worldwide coronavirus political tide. He decided not to take one of the experimental coronavirus vaccines.

Many government leaders across the world have, in contrast, made a big show of their publicly taking experimental coronavirus vaccine shots.

While United States President Joe Biden is out spreading blatantly fraudulent propaganda that experimental coronavirus vaccines are safe and everyone should take them, south of the border President López Obrador is pretty much saying “I’ll pass.”

As reported Monday by the Associated Press, López Obrador, who had refused to take a shot earlier because he did not want to become a “spectacle,” chose again not to take a shot when, based on his age and where he lives, his turn recently came up. Why? López Obrador explains that doctors advised him he already has sufficient antibodies due to having been infected with coronavirus in January.

Instead of allowing himself to be corralled like livestock into a mass vaccination pen, López Obrador did what people have long done as a matter of course, he obtained medical advice focused on his own unique circumstances and then made up his own mind about his healthcare. His conclusion: Taking shots is not the right course of action for him.

How normal. How not “new normal.” What a breath of fresh air.

Copyright © 2021 by RonPaul Institute

April 6, 2021 Posted by | Aletho News | , , | 2 Comments

Mexican President-Elect’s Campaign Already Target of Russia Fearmongering

21st Century Wire | July 3, 2018

Mexico’s newly elected president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (“AMLO”), just won a sweeping victory by all accounts, but that hasn’t stopped the Russia fearmongering express from rolling on in the mainstream press.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador speaks to his campaign volunteers and supporters after his election victory. (lopezobrador.org.mx)

It’s truly something diabolical to witness – everything from the prospects of peace to just about anything happening on the planet – Russia could be to blame.

As it turns out, back in January, Rueters ran a story quoting H.R. McMaster, then U.S. National Security Adviser. McMaster said he’d already seen the “initial signs” of Russia ‘meddling’ in Mexico’s upcoming election. The story added that AMLO is also “the Kremlin’s favorite” because his campaign was covered on RT and Sputnik broadcasts.

This sounds a lot like north of the border Russiagate. In the case of Mexico, we’re again supposed to take an official’s word for it. No hard evidence needed.

H.R. McMaster
H.R. McMaster, sacked from the White House in April, now works to combat ‘Russia and China threats’ at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution think tank.

The McMaster speculation, as we’ll call it, has been used for months to traffic in more Russia fearmongering news stories leading up to Mexico’s 2018 election.

This is all it takes to give a little canard its wings.

The Guardian soon jumped in with “Mexico’s leftwing frontrunner laughs off Russia jibes and says: I’m no Moscow stooge.” AMLO the candidate responded to the ridiculous allegations of ‘Russian support’ by jokingly referring to himself as “Andrés Manuelovich” and said he was expecting a submarine to arrive from Moscow bringing him gold.

A clever and humorous response, no doubt, but really just more fodder for Russiagate…

The Atlantic (“Are Mexico’s Elections Russia’s Next Target?”) and The New York Times (“Bots and Trolls Elbow Into Mexico’s Crowded Electoral Field”) joined in with their own version of this fake news story.

True to form, The Washington Post couldn’t resist with “The prospect of Russian meddling in Mexico’s election is no joke.”

As Mexico’s election results poured in on Monday, signaling a landslide victory for AMLO, Russophobia ensued on Twitter:

But the “Gran Premio” (Grand Prize) for this fake news story on Russia meddling in Mexico’s election goes to The Daily Express :

As you can see in the screen grab above from Monday’s edition of their website, the UK tabloid newspaper ran with the headline:

“Mexico Election 2018: Russia INTERFERENCE in López Obrador President campaign feared by US”

And in the subhead and top image, there’s the recycled McMaster claim along with reference to none other than Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

This is the paint-by-numbers kit for how the mainstream press pushes Russia fearmongering inside their fake news echo chamber. With more elections to come this year, expect to see it again.

It’s official. Russiagate goes to Mexico. Where will it go next?

July 4, 2018 Posted by | Fake News, Mainstream Media, Warmongering, Russophobia | , , | 7 Comments

Mexico: AMLO Says No to Presidential Bodyguards

teleSUR | July 4, 2018

Mexico’s newly elected President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, also known as AMLO, refused federal protection during a meeting with current President Enrique Peña Nieto, at the National Palace.

AMLO, who won the election with a historic 53% of the votes, was offered the requisite presidential protective detail but declined the offer. The president-elect left the meeting with Peña Nieto and entered the front seat of a Volkswagen Jetta, surrounded by supporters but no bodyguard in sight.

“There’s going to be a real change, a deep change. It will be a radical change, but nobody should be scared,” Lopez Obrador stated following the meeting with the current president.

Though the most recent electoral campaign was one of the deadliest in Mexico’s history, with over 130 killings recorded in less than 200 days, AMLO had rejected military protection.

“I will not use the services of the presidential general staff, I will not be surrounded by bodyguards, those who fight for justice have nothing to fear (…) The people will protect me,” he said in March address.

Lopez Obrador’s approach to security is one of the proposed outstanding changes in his government plan, in which his mandate has proposed the removal of military forces from the streets through a training and professionalization plan for the police.

Scholarships for young people, pensions for seniors and the revision of previously awarded oil contracts will also be among the priorities for his administration.

July 4, 2018 Posted by | Militarism | , | Leave a comment

Mexico: Fight Over “Energy Reform” Heats Up

Weekly News Update on the Americas | December 8, 2013

As of Dec. 8 the Mexican Senate was set to begin debates on President Enrique Peña Nieto’s plan for opening up the state-owned oil and electric companies, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and the Federal Energy Commission (CFE), to greater participation by foreign and Mexican private companies. Supporters say the “energy reform” will bring needed capital investment and technical expertise to the energy sector, while opponents consider it a disguised plan for privatization, especially of oil production, which President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (1934-1940) nationalized in 1938.

The legislative proposal–worked out by the governing centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the center-right National Action Party (PAN), which together hold a majority in the Congress—includes changes to Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution. Article 27 asserts state control over oil, gas and coal and bans the granting of concessions; the proposal would add a qualification that private companies could share in profits, could be paid in cash or barrels of oil and could count their share of oil reserves as assets. Article 28 would no longer define the refining of oil and the generation of electricity as strategic activities. According to opponents, the changes to Article 27 would create de facto concessions and the changes to Article 28 would allow private companies to compete with Pemex and the CFE. Opposition in the Senate is being led by Sen. Alejandro Encinas of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and Sen. Manuel Bartlett of the small leftist Labor Party (PT). (La Jornada (Mexico) 12/8/13)

Since the beginning of December protesters have organized daily picket lines outside the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies to express their opposition to the “reform.” The National Regeneration Movement (Morena), a new center-left party which broke away from the PRD in 2012, is sponsoring the street protests, with support from PRD and PT activists and grassroots groups. The movement suffered a setback in the early morning of Dec. 3 when Morena founder Andrés Manuel López Obrador (“AMLO”) was hospitalized with a heart attack and underwent surgery. A two-time presidential candidate and the head of government of the Federal District (DF, Mexico City) from 2000 to 2005, López Obrador was released from the hospital on Dec. 7; his doctors said the patient’s progress was satisfactory but told him to rest at home for four weeks. His son, Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, and Morena president Martí Batres are now leading the protests. (LJ 12/8/13, 12/8/13)

The Congress has nearly completed approval of another set of sweeping constitutional changes. On Dec. 3 the Senate passed a measure that would allow reelection of federal legislators for up to 12 years; currently they cannot stand for reelection after one term–six years for senators and three years for legislative deputies. Presidents would still be limited to one six-year term. The changes would also allow independent candidates to run; now candidates need to be nominated by registered political parties. The measure passed the Chamber of Deputies on Dec. 5 with support from the PRI, the PAN and part of the PRD, but the legislation was returned to the Senate to iron out differences between the versions from the two chambers. The PAN has insisted on the electoral changes as a condition for its support of Peña Nieto’s energy program. (Miami Herald 12/4/13 from AP; LJ 12/6/13)

December 11, 2013 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mexico: Fight Over “Energy Reform” Heats Up