In the 51 months of his administration, López Obrador has replicated the communication model that he implemented during his time at the Head of Government of the then Federal District (2000-2006), but with an overloaded format: now he exposes topics for more than two hours , has fixed sections, presents guests and even includes a musical selection with his frequently used themes.
However, although it is the only exercise in the world in which a president stands in front of a group of journalists from Monday to Friday, in the four years the task has not been achieved: questioning power.
Cortés explains that this is due, in part; because the president himself does not usually answer what is asked; and also because he uses that space to make propaganda, to insult the press, to talk about issues that interest him and even to “distract” from the relevant problems in national events.
Another element that stands out is that an important part of the morning attendees are not journalists, but bloggers or activists related to their movement.
“Many times I was horrified to verify that in one morning there is not a single question about a current issue that is very important for citizens; They can be issues of the relationship with the United States, migration issues, Pemex debt issues, the economy, inflation.
“Many times, youtubers ask about things that do not have any kind of significance in terms of current affairs and the press conference ends without him having talked about something crucial; not even what to tell him about drug trafficking or organized crime,” he criticizes. journalist.
Why hasn’t power been questioned if, from Monday to Friday, the president appears for more than two hours before the press? It is a question with several answers, explains the analyst, among them, he alludes, the format of the morning sessions and the uses that the federal president himself gives to the conferences.
Cortés assures that journalists have a fundamental role to hold power accountable and that, beyond the government of President López Obrador, their role is to question power. But in the current scenario, the president, he adds, attacks them because they tell a truth that he does not like.
“The media have a crucial role in a democracy, we are the most prepared to ask power to be accountable, to process what power gives us, to transfer it to citizens, to contextualize it, to contrast it and that does not happen ”, warns Cortés, a journalist born in Spain, but for years he has worked in Mexico.
