Latin America Advisor

Alma Caballero, director at McLarty Associates: “President-elect Andres Manuel López Obrador’s ‘republican austerity government plan’ is intended to reduce excessive government spending while serving as a tool to attack corruption. One of AMLO’s main promises throughout his campaign was to end the privileges of those involved in the ‘mafia of power.’ However, even though AMLO has yet to reveal a specific plan as to how his administration will attack corruption, he has been detailed in outlining how the benefits of reducing corruption will be used to fund his priority project initiatives. Those priorities include the economic developments of the country’s southern states, the construction of two new oil refineries, the development of a new railway line across the Tehuantepec isthmus and the construction of a ‘Maya’ trainline extending from Quintana Roo to Chiapas, among others. Consolidated purchases as well as salary cuts for government officials are part of AMLO’s austerity plan. Skepticism exists, however, regarding the…”