The Power of Being Present: How AMLO Won

When people ask me about Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s performance as president, my answer is clear: it was unsatisfactory. During his six years in power, he had the opportunity to implement real changes in the country’s economic and social dynamics, but none of them materialized effectively. His focus was primarily on politics and ensuring the succession of his government, while progress in the economy, security, and social welfare was notably absent.

The economy didn’t improve, and security conditions even worsened. Poverty rates remained stagnant. His main project was political, and honestly, its execution left much to be desired. On the issues that affect Mexicans the most—security, the economy, and social welfare—his administration was, at best, mediocre.

However, Andrés Manuel didn’t win six years ago for being the most qualified or intelligent candidate. He won because he was the only one who truly made himself visible. With a simple but effective strategy, he traveled to every corner of Mexico, making direct contact with people. In contrast, his opponents remained distant, disconnected from the reality of the average voter.

José Antonio Meade, for example, might have been a candidate with great technical capability, but he was invisible. Ricardo Anaya, though dynamic and charismatic, lacked the vision to connect with smaller communities, those towns forgotten for decades. He became tangible only to an elite group. The vast majority of Mexicans—the middle and lower classes—only saw one candidate: Andrés Manuel.

This phenomenon isn’t about capability or brilliant proposals. It’s about being tangible. AMLO wasn’t the best, but he was the only one who presented himself to the people. He won by default, and it seems that strategy is still effective. Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president, didn’t win because she was the best option, but because of her closeness to AMLO, the only candidate truly visible to the voters.

It feels as if Mexico has regressed 50 years. Elections resemble those of the 1970s, when there was only one visible candidate on the ballot—the ruling party’s. Back then, the system crushed the opposition; today, the opposition simply refuses to make itself visible.

Opposition politicians seem to live in an alternate universe, disconnected from deep Mexico. As long as they continue to ignore small towns and forgotten communities, they will remain irrelevant to voters. Mexico will continue to be a country where the best doesn’t win, but rather the only one who becomes tangible to the people.

Andrés’ great success was showing up—being present. He understood that much of winning is about being there and being tangible to the majority. The others didn’t do it, either because they didn’t know how or didn’t want to. In the end, the real battle in politics isn’t just about who has the best ideas, but about who can become real and close to the people. Who will be the next to achieve this?