News Summaries in February 2024
“Can a New President Move Mexico Past Its Authoritarian Streak?” Washington Post, Feb. 29, 2024 [Mexican journalist León Krauze explores in this op-ed piece whether what he calls the authoritarian tactics of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will continue when he is no longer in office.] Last week, the president of Mexico sought to preempt the publication by the New York Times of an investigation of alleged drug money influence on his inner circle. Rebuffing a Times request for an on the record comment, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador used his daily news conference to divulge the private cellphone number of Times correspondent Natalie Kitroeff. Times and other journalists condemned the doxing, but he expressed indifference. In an exchange a few days later with another journalist who pointed out the possible illegality of releasing private information, he declared that “the political and moral authority of the president of Mexico is above th...