02-08-2018: Latin American Weekly Report

Just one month after winning Mexico’s presidential elections and four months before he takes office, President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador is being accused by some within the political opposition of a naked power grab under the pretext of combating corruption. López Obrador plans to do away with the numerous federal delegations in each of Mexico’s 32 states which administer federal resources and coordinate federal programmes. In their place would be one ‘coordinator’ per state. Several of those assigned to fill these positions are candidates who were defeated in recent gubernatorial elections in the respective states. This is prompting accusations that López Obrador is intent on undercutting the authority of democratically elected governors.