Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said over the weekend that his country was nearing the end of the coronavirus crisis, telling supporters that the “small lights” at the end of the tunnel could already be seen.
The next day he gave positive results for Covid-19, throwing the country into turmoil – and provoking new criticism of his cavalier response to a disease that killed nearly 150,000 citizens.
During the pandemic, López Obrador – popularly known as Amlo – was condemned for his seemingly carefree behavior: he constantly downplayed the severity of the crisis, continued to tour the country and was rarely seen wearing a mask.
“It’s as if Amlo was looking [infection]”, Said Rodolfo Soriano-Núñez, a sociologist from Mexico City, using a common reference for the president. “He was very careless.”
The diagnosis came at a bleak time for Mexico. The daily death toll has exceeded 1,000 in most of January, and Mexico is expected to surpass India soon to become third on the list of hardest hit countries.
The president’s political allies responded to his positive test with outpourings of support for a president who remained popular, despite the dire impact of the pandemic.
Some of the expressions went down in fanaticism – “Why don’t you give me Covid instead of Andrés Manuel” Beatriz Castillo wrote on Twitter, a pro-Amlo writer. On social media, Amlo supporters crowded in to reprimand posts, noting Amlo’s refusal to wear a mask.
“Most Amlo supporters – though not all – seem to be more concerned with defending it than they are about the soundness of its policies to protect the health of Mexican colleagues,” said Carlos Bravo Regidor, a professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching. .
“There is not even a shadow of civic duty or critical conscience in their reactions. They are just militants and sycophants. ”
Amlo announced its positive test Sunday night after I flew back from the north-central city of San Luis Potosi. Videos on social networks he showed them boarding the plane like any other passenger, asking questions about when the president was diagnosed during a day full of events and public meetings.
The president, who has a history of heart problems and smoked long before suffering a massive heart attack in 2013, said he had “mild symptoms” and was receiving medical care. He insisted that his health has been good since he took office and often talks about avoiding bad habits, such as eating junk food.
Despite his age and high blood pressure, López Obrador did not receive the vaccine, although Mexico received batches of doses of Pfizer-BioNTech.
He promised to continue working, although for the first time in two years he gave up the daily press conference he normally uses to dismiss criticism and spread sunny messages that Mexico has already gone through the worst.
His chairman at Monday’s news conference was Interior Minister Olga Sanchez Cordero, who said Amlo was fine and remained firmly in government.
“He’ll be back soon,” said Sánchez Cordero, who was not wearing a mask.
Senior officials were tested and several went into self-isolation after diagnosis.
“The reality is that they have to be very concerned about his health,” said Bárbara González, a political analyst in Monterrey, about the president’s supporters. “There is no ‘Obradorismo’ without Obrador.”