Juarez voters expect Mexico’s new president to keep campaign promises

Mexico’s new president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, was sworn in Saturday morning, taking power for the first time since he started running for federal office in 2006.

Lopez Obrador’s inauguration speech before legislators and foreign guests sounding a lot like his campaign, which started in Juarez.

He’s promised to fight corruption, an everlasting problem in Mexico, remove governmental immunity and federalize law enforcement under a National Guard. His speech regularly going back to blaming neoliberalism for Mexico’s woes, speaking against his political opponents as he’s done for more than a decade, just a bit softer toward Enrique Pena Nieto, the previous president, sitting just a few meters from Lopez Obrador.

Voters in Juarez ABC-7 spoke to almost all agreed they expect Lopez Obrador to be more presidential.

“His speech and behavior need to change from now on, he can’t carry on like a candidate accusing others of problems,” said Augusto Perez Caradeo, who voted for Lopez Obrador in July.

Lopez Obrador said in his inauguration speech he would submit himself to a public poll in two and a half years to ask if he should remain in power.

Unofficial polls have been a signature part of Lopez Obrador’s political career–he’s used them while president-elect to claim support for policies he touted during the election, the same policies that wom him a majority of the vote.

Lopez Obrador also claimed he would work against corruption by cutting public service pay and vacating the presidential residence. Lopez Obrador has not yet said where he will be living.

Mexican presidential terms last for six years and there is no reelection.