Mexico’s new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, was sworn in this weekend amid fanfare as tens of thousands gathered in the capital to celebrate the country’s first leftist president in decades. In his inaugural speech, AMLO addressed security and vowed to end corruption and impunity. We speak with Greg Grandin, prize-winning author and professor of Latin American history at New York University. He says, “The crisis on the border that has been prompted by the Trump administration, but also has deep structural roots, will play out with this hope that AMLO represents. The Latin American left has been defeated everywhere else. AMLO is isolated. Brazil, Colombia, Argentina — these are all major countries that are ruled by right-wing governments.”
AMY GOODMAN: Greg Grandin, before we go, I want to ask you about Mexico and what’s happening today. The new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, was just sworn in on Saturday. Tens of thousands gathered in the Zócalo, the central square of Mexico City. The first leftist president in decades. In his inaugural speech, AMLO addressed security and vowed to end corruption and impunity. You wrote the introduction to his book? The blurb. You wrote a blurb for it.
GREG GRANDIN: Blurb.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about the significance of where Mexico is today.
GREG GRANDIN: Well, it’s historic. It’s historic for Mexico. It’s historic for the region. It’s historic in terms of US-Mexican relations. Obviously, the crisis on the border that has been prompted by the Trump administration, but also has deep structural roots, will play out with this hope that AMLO represents.
But the Latin American left has been defeated everywhere else. AMLO is alone. He’s isolated. I mean, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina — these are all countries, major countries, that are ruled by right-wing governments. In some ways, it reminds me of when Hugo Chávez came…