MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� Every day at 7 a.m., President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador strolls onto a stage in Mexico's National Palace, clad in a smart suit and tie, and peers out at a room of bleary-eyed reporters and social media personalities. 鈥淏uenos d铆as, look alive!鈥� the 70-year-old leader calls out in a gravelly voice.
And the show begins.
Throughout his nearly six-year term in office, L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 morning media briefings, known as 鈥渓as ma帽aneras,鈥� have provided him with a powerful tool: a direct line to his political base, broadcast live on government and local news channels, and streaming online. Without pausing to take bathroom breaks or even a sip of water, the president stands at the podium talking for sometimes more than three hours, often in long, roundabout musings or rambling diatribes, all in simple language that anyone tuning in can understand.
Before he leaves office Monday, the daily briefings, beloved by many supporters and criticized by opponents as full of falsehoods and personal attacks, are emblematic of the particular brand of folksy populism that L贸pez Obrador wielded to become one of the most powerful political forces Mexico has seen in decades. It's a model that his successor and protege, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, will be hard-pressed to emulate.
鈥淭he national conversation revolves around him,鈥� said Daniela Lemus, a National Autonomous University of Mexico professor who researches political communication and has written about the briefings. 鈥淗e is the protagonist of the ma帽aneras 鈥� and what he says becomes the main topic of conversation by the media, day and night.鈥�
When L贸pez Obrador won the presidency in a landslide in 2018, he pitched himself as a fighter for poor, working-class and rural Mexicans long neglected by the political elite. He started holding the briefings right after taking office that December, and has continued to do so every workday almost without fail for the duration of his time in office.
They're popular with his base: One older adult couple in Mexico City, for example, tune in religiously on a small TV wedged between bags of seeds and nuts at their stall in a food market. Elsewhere, a magazine vendor records the broadcast to watch at night after work. Still another fan of AMLO, as the president is popularly known, streams it on social media while he looks for work.
鈥淭he ma帽aneras have opened our eyes. They show us all what Mr. L贸pez Obrador has achieved,鈥� said Jes煤s Hern谩ndez Alarc贸n, a 79-year-old roasted corn vendor. 鈥淲e have understood a lot because the media is full of lies, many have tricked us. Now that we have the ma帽aneras, everything has changed for me.鈥�
L贸pez Obrador often uses the space to provide updates on key projects and take questions from a cluster of journalists and government-friendly social media influencers, some of whom have gained a platform from their participation in the briefings 鈥� such as Carlos Pozos Soto, an eccentric, bow-tied, effusively pro-AMLO figure better known as Lord Molecule.
As time has gone on, the briefings have morphed into something resembling a morning show, with L贸pez Obrador inviting mariachi bands to serenade viewers on Mother鈥檚 Day, lecturing at length on Mexican history and hosting recurring segments such as 鈥淲ho's who in the lies of the week,鈥� in which government officials attack critical media.
鈥淭his is a way to educate, to raise awareness so that (traditional news organizations) cannot manipulate鈥� information, L贸pez Obrador said one morning in August. 鈥淧eople are more informed, and that comes with a lot of advantages. 鈥� There is no topic that is off limits, there is no censorship.鈥�
L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 willingness to publicly joust with journalists has had all the more impact because his predecessor, Enrique Pe帽a Nieto, almost never took a question during his own six-year term.
But while the president calls the briefings a bastion of transparency in a nation long plagued by corruption, critics say he has used them to badmouth opponents and journalists, spread false information and firmly control the political narrative.
Often, rather than answering a question directly, he instead uses it as a launching pad to talk about one of his preferred topics. He consistently sidesteps questions about Mexico's continuing cartel-fueled violence, for example, or pivots to rail against his predecessors for starting the drug war.
L贸pez Obrador has , criticized opponents during election campaigns and regularly targeted both domestic and foreign journalists.
In February, after a New York Times reporter sought comment for an article investigating ties between his administration and drug cartels, the president disclosed her cellphone number during a morning briefing.
And last month, when an independent Mexican journalist said she had been harassed by a mob of his supporters and forced to flee an event she was covering, L贸pez Obrador and disinterest.
鈥淚 am at risk because of this, now anyone can attack me in the street,鈥� Reyna Ram铆rez told the president. 鈥淵ou have polarized society. Don鈥檛 you have anything to say about that?鈥�
鈥淗ave you gone on long enough?鈥� the president said.
Advocates for press freedom have expressed concern over his hostility toward critical media in a place that is more dangerous for journalists than any other country not currently at war. At least 138 journalists have been killed in Mexico in the past 20 years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and many more have gone missing or been threatened, attacked, tortured or forced to flee their homes.
The president's discourse created 鈥渁 narrative of us versus them, of journalists being the enemies of this political project, the opponents of the people 鈥� diminishing the urgency of protecting press freedom,鈥� said Jan-Albert Hootsen, the CPJ's Mexico representative.
Meanwhile a 2021 report by the political consulting agency SPIN found that L贸pez Obrador made more than in his ma帽aneras in a period covering 2 1/2 years. Among them is his assertion that cartels 鈥� 鈥� and only fight among themselves.
鈥淛ust because the president is walking up to a stage and is talking about something, doesn鈥檛 mean he's being open,鈥� Hootsen said. 鈥淚f he鈥檚 lying all the time, and there are no consequences, then we鈥檙e not talking about transparency.鈥�
In the age of social media, videos and soundbites from the ma帽aneras often go viral online, further boosting the president鈥檚 audience.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not what happens in the morning press conference itself, but what happens after,鈥� said Kevin Zapata, a social and public policy professor at the University de Nottingham who has studied the briefings. 鈥淎 30-second clip can be more powerful than the two hours on the TV.鈥�
For people who may not have much time to investigate L贸pez Obrador's claims and deeply distrust Mexican media, it's often the government's narrative that ends up dominating.
When asked about false information and attacks on journalists, his supporters often repeat the president's lines of attack, for example saying such criticism comes from a corrupt opposition and the president is defending Mexican sovereignty.
L贸pez Obrador's popularity spurred his Morena party to major electoral gains in the June elections. Morena will have an even greater majority in Congress as Sheinbaum takes up the presidency, and lawmakers recently passed a constitutional amendment that observers and critics say is likely to result in courts being stacked with judges friendly to the party.
Sheinbaum has said she will continue the morning broadcasts. But most Mexicans agree that she lacks the natural charisma that has allowed L贸pez Obrador to wield the ma帽aneras so effectively.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something that worked for AMLO because he鈥檚 a very unique figure and very charismatic. ... But now democracy is becoming a popularity show in Mexico,鈥� Zapata said. 鈥淢any people will try to emulate it, that鈥檚 for sure. But not everyone will be able to.鈥�
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Megan Janetsky, The Associated Press
