- Title: Mexico presidential hopeful rejects comparisons to Venezuela
- Date: 3rd September 2017
- Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (SEPTEMBER 03, 2017) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF SUPPORTERS OF LEFTIST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR GATHERED AT REVOLUTION MONUMENT LOPEZ OBRADOR WAVING TO CROWD ON STAGE TO CRIES OF "VIVA" AUDIENCE APPLAUDING GENERAL VIEW OF LOPEZ OBRADOR ON STAGE BLOW UP DOLL OF LOPEZ OBRADOR BEING HELD UP BY MEMBER OF AUDIENCE LOPEZ OBRADOR SPEAKING FROM PODIUM MEMBER OF AUDIENCE LISTENING AT RALLY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LEFTIST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, SAYING: "To instill fear, (they are) saying that if MORENA wins Mexico is going to be like Venezuela. That's a lie. That's false. We're not taking inspiration from any foreign government. We are inspired by our heroes who have taught us to fight for freedom and justice." AUDIENCE APPLAUDING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LEFTIST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, SAYING: "Not Maduro. Not Donald Trump. This is a movement that inspires the best of our history." GENERAL VIEW OF STAGE AT RALLY LOPEZ OBRADOR PRESENTING TO AUDIENCE A BOOK OF RULES FOR MORENA PARTY MORE OF AUDIENCE APPLAUDING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LOPEZ OBRADOR SUPPORTER, GONZALO HERNANDEZ, SAYING: "Half the country is in poverty and that is a great cost. Those who are poor are at the same level as they were six years ago. Violence is worse than (former president Felipe) Calderon and so I think the option of Andres Manuel (Lopez Obrador) is the most viable and the healthiest for democracy in our country." LARGE ANNER AT RALLY WITH THE LETTERS "AMLO", INITIALS OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE GENERAL VIEW OF AUDIENCE AT RALLY
- Embargoed: 17th September 2017 23:47
- Keywords: leftist Mexico presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro President Enrique Pena Nieto
- Location: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
- City: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016X1L35V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The current front-runner for Mexico's 2018 presidential election on Sunday (September 03) rejected comparisons of his leftist party to Venezuela's socialist government, saying his movement was a Mexican-made revolution against rampant corruption.
Former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has led early opinion polls for the 2018 election, supported by frustration with rising crime and corruption scandals that have battered the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Just last week, President Enrique Pena Nieto compared the 63-year-old to Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, suggesting Lopez Obrador could unleash economic chaos if he wins office. The leftist candidate dismissed those criticisms as scaremongering.
Analysts have compared Lopez Obrador's populist appeal to that of Trump. While Trump blamed immigrants and free trade deals for declining incomes among working-class Americans, Lopez Obrador's message is that corruption is keeping Mexicans poor.
Lopez Obrador was the runner-up in Mexico's past two presidential contests. A victory by him could mark a leftward shift in Latin America's second-largest economy, where centrist technocrats have held sway for decades, and further complicate relations with top trade partner the United States. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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