Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, declared over the weekend that his country was nearing the end of the coronavirus crisis, telling his supporters that “little lights” at the end of the tunnel could already be seen.
The next day, he tested positive for Covid-19, leaving the country in turmoil – and generating new criticism of his arrogant response to a disease that killed almost 150,000 citizens.
During the pandemic, López Obrador – popularly known as Amlo – was condemned for his seemingly carefree behavior: he consistently minimized the severity of the crisis, continued to travel the country and was rarely seen wearing a mask.
“It is as if Amlo was looking for [infection]”Said Rodolfo Soriano-Núñez, a sociologist from Mexico City, using a common reference for the president. “He’s been very careless.”
The diagnosis came at a dark time for Mexico. The daily death toll exceeded 1,000 in much of January, and Mexico is expected to surpass India soon to become third on the list of most affected countries.
The president’s political allies responded to his positive test by expressing support for a president who remained popular despite the terrible impact of the pandemic.
Some of the expressions turned into fanaticism – “Why not give me Covid instead of Andrés Manuel”, Beatriz Castillo tweeted, a pro-Amlo writer. On social media, Amlo’s supporters huddled in scolding posts noting Amlo’s refusal to wear a mask.
“Most of Amlo’s supporters – although not all – seem to be much more concerned with defending him than with the strength of his policies to protect the health of his countrymen,” said Carlos Bravo Regidor, professor at the Research and Teaching Center in Economics.
“There is no shadow of civic duty or critical awareness in their reactions. They are just militants and sycophants. “
Amlo announced your positive test Sunday night after flying back from the north-central city of San Luis Potosí. Videos on social networks I showed him board the plane like any other passenger, raising questions about when the president received his diagnosis during a busy day of public events and meetings.
The president, who has a history of heart problems and was a heavy smoker before suffering a massive heart attack in 2013, said he had “mild symptoms” and was receiving medical attention. He insists that his health has been fine since he took office and always talks about avoiding bad habits, like eating junk food.
Despite his age and hypertension, López Obrador did not receive an injection of vaccine, although Mexico has received batches of doses from Pfizer-BioNTech.
He promised to continue working, although for the first time in two years he skipped his morning press conference, which he normally uses to refute criticism and spread positive messages that Mexico has been through the worst.
His replacement at Monday’s press conference was Interior Minister Olga Sánchez Cordero, who said Amlo was feeling good and remains firmly in charge of the government.
“He will recover soon,” said Sánchez Cordero, who did not wear a mask.
Graduated employees were tested and several were isolated after diagnosis.
“The reality is that they must be very concerned about their health,” said Bárbara González, a political analyst in Monterrey, about the president’s supporters. “There is no ‘Obradorismo’ without Obrador.”