The president has the right to change his mind, of course. It is wise. But the rudder change is of such importance that it is worth putting a couple of reflections on the table.
First: is it credible that a man who occupied the center of the opposition political scene in Mexico for at least 12 years, and toured the country (famously) like few others, was truly unaware of the precise gravity of the security challenge?
It is possible, of course, that López Obrador did not have access to all the information that is a presidential prerogative. But did he need that information? Were not the data, conversations and evidence that he had at his disposal as an opposition leader for more than a decade (part of it, as head of government of the capital) to conclude that the promise to demilitarize security was not only inappropriate but illusory? Did he really not know?
The answer forces an even more relevant question. If López Obrador at least sensed that that promise was impossible to fulfill, and planned to grant even more power to the Mexican armed forces, turning his back (once…again.) on the progressive agenda that he claims to defend, was he committing a deception? ?
