On July 1, 2018, millions of workers and oppressed people managed to impose their will, marking a turning point in the recent history of Mexico. This has been a period in which millions of the oppressed masses have experienced and taken part in different battles against the right wing and the bourgeoisie, as well as confronting all those who have tried to prevent workers and the oppressed from taking their destiny into their own hands.
AMLO’s victory in 2018 was the result of years of battles not only against the right and the bourgeoisie, but also against the conciliatory politics of reformism that led to a process of enormous erosion of the regime. From the fraud of 1988, through the formation of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), the Zapatista insurrection of 1994, the UNAM strike in 1999–2000, to the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) strike and the struggle for the disappeared students from Ayotzinapa in 2014, through the convulsive year of 2006 with the electoral fraud, the struggle of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO), the resistance of indigenous people against the airport in Atenco and the strike in the SICARTSA steel mill. All these battles are part of the experiences that preceded and were expressed in the 2018 election.
Of course this did not mean a blank cheque for AMLO. Millions of Morena supporters and voters have been the first to demand the fulfilment of Obrador’s government programme, such as the clarification of the events of Ayotzinapa in 2014, the rescue of the Pasta de Conchos miners, the democratisation of the trade unions, or the end of militarisation and violence in the country. All of these, like others, are still unfulfilled promises.
Progress and setbacks in the time of the 4T
This phenomenon cannot be better illustrated in all its nuances than in the contradictions that follow Claudia Sheinbaum’s candidacy for the presidency. While we should not downplay the significance of the first woman president in the history of the country claiming to be a leftist, equally we should not minimise the role she has played in confronting the feminist struggle during her time as head of government of Mexico City.
The days of repression she oversaw during the demonstrations against patriarchal violence in Mexico City, her support for people like Félix Salgado Macedonio and Porfirio Muñoz Ledo (who stand on Morena’s right wing), and other questionable alliances under the guise of blind pragmatism, contrast with the role that her victory will play in dealing dealing a blow against machismo, in the resurgence of right-wing misogyny, and in provoking the questioning of the role of women in the political life of the country.
It is therefore necessary to take stock of which of Sheinbaum’s policies are steps backwards or forwards not only for the feminist movement, but for workers and oppressed people as a whole. But the most important thing that is happening in this election period is that both are faces of the same policy, however contradictory they may seem.
This is not a phenomenon experienced exclusively by Sheinbaum’s candidacy, it is also the contradiction of the president’s policy in which we can find advances and setbacks. While the number of murders in the country has decreased during his six-year term, these 2024 federal elections are shaping up to be some of the most violent in the country in a long time. In January alone, five candidates for elected office were assassinated, 19 if public officials and family members are counted.
Political-electoral violence has increased significantly during Obrador’s six-year term (according to the Votar Entre Balas report), a product of the lack of viable projects and the political crisis that the right also faces. It is also part of a broader process in which the right seek to cling to power and prevent further steps forward at all costs, either by joining the ranks of Morena or by entrenching themselves in spaces from which to continue launching attacks against the working class.
A political alternative for workers and oppressed people
Those who fight for the rights of the LGBT community, (especially against the attacks on the trans community), the indigenous peoples who fight for territory and water, among many others who struggle to win their demands, are at the same crossroads. They are trying to get rid of the old political regime as it fails in every way possible but clings on to avoid being thrown into the dustbin of history. This impasse is a consequence of the political crisis we are facing, and the attempts of AMLO’s reformist project to patch up Mexican capitalism “with a human face”.
This period of progress and setbacks, of contradictory victories for the working class, is part of an international economic crisis facing capitalism worldwide. It is no coincidence that on the continent alone, progressive governments such as those of Lula da Silva in Brazil, Gustavo Petro in Colombia or López Obrador in our country, as well as right-wingers such as Bolsonaro, Trump or Milei are claiming to be anti-elite, anti-globalisation and nationalist.
It is therefore no coincidence that the relative triumph of the working class in Argentina has managed to partially defeat Milei, preventing the approval of the Omnibus law. Or what seems to be a new defeat for the Argentinean ultra-rightist, who has launched a new attack, this time against the feminist movement that is preparing a powerful mobilisation for March 8 in Argentina. In both cases, the example is clear: only with the struggle on the streets, with the mobilisation and organisation of the working class will be able to stop the right wing and the bourgeoisie worldwide. And furthermore, it is only through the mobilisation and organisation of workers, youth, the LGBTQ+ community, peasants and women that the desires and demands of millions of oppressed people around the world can be realised.
In a period as complex as ours, the worst enemy is confusion, and our best weapon is clarity. Losing sight of what is happening in the reality of the country by concentrating on the results of only one or another battle in these elections will only benefit the right, but understanding the situation clearly, however contradictory these battles may seem, is the only thing that can assure us new victories. But this requires organisation and mobilisation, based on a discussion of the successes, mistakes and limits of Obrador and the leadership of Morena. In other words, it requires a balance sheet that points not only to what has happened, but especially to indicate the way forward for the next period. This is what we at Alternativa Socialista do on a daily basis, to contribute to the discussion, mobilisation and struggle of millions.
