So....Mexico recently had elections, and Claudia Sheinbaum won. Leftists and social democrats are cheering that this is such a win for social democracy and the left...and then I asked my Mexican friend who lived in Mexico city what they thought. And the results of that were less inspiring than the media narrative. By the way, the same dynamics played out in many forums I was on today. yes yes, social democrat won, yay. First woman president of Mexico, yay. But then the collective groans as people realize this person isn't that great. Why?
Well, the first reason is the cartels. Apparently she has a policy of "hugs, not bullets" toward the cartels. So basically, she's soft on crime. And the cartels in Mexico are like the Italian mob in NYC during the mid 20th century. They control everything, and as we know they're pretty brutal. Lots of candidates were assassinated by them, and it's suspected that Sheinbaum won't do much to actually rein them in.
This is a problem lefties have. Lefties will be good on economics, but then on like crime or immigration or something, they'll turn off normies, and drive people to the right. In all fairness, right wing administrations who were tougher on the cartels werent very successful either, but yeah, having a policy of literally coddling these guys is probably not a good thing. And I think she's kinda cringey here.
Even on econ she ain't great. Apparently there was a massive subway collapse in mexico city during her tenure as mayor of the city. My friend said she mightve mismanaged the funds that were supposed to go to that. That's kind of a big screwup that wouldnt be tolerated here in America. This isnt just like an oopsie like the francis scott key bridge collapse, this is just ignoring obvious structural problems with the infrastructure until stuff collapses. So she doesnt seem to have her priorities straight.
Apparently the maya train program she's for is actually pro business and environmentally destructive. I mean just reading this article it's jobs for jobs sake. Yay, my friends in construction have jobs again, because jobs good. Building a train that's damaging the ecosystem. Wtf are we doing with our economy.
But yeah. This isn't to say that everything about this woman is bad, or that this isn't a win for the left. A lot of people are fawning over this, and apparently she won by a supermajority. So she's extremely popular. Maybe she is doing some good things down there. Idk. But I do wanna emphasize the same thing i did when I looked at AOC vs Jill Stein yesterday. Someone can be ideologically on the "right side" but still be a crap politician. And we should hold those people accountable, as they can damage our movement and its image. I know my first impression of this candidate is soured by my friend's reaction, and looking at what they're saying, I kinda agree. Having a policy toward crime (particularly organized crime related to cartels) that literally is called "hugs not bullets" is one of the most tone deaf and cringe things I've ever seen.
And her record as MXC mayor reminds me of those insular blue state leftie mayors in places like new york or chicago where we keep electing these democrats over and over again, and nothing changes. I mean i live in a city like that. Smaller, but still the same. Always has a democratic mayor, the mayor is kind of a piece of crap. Doesnt do anything, is loved for some reason I'll never understand, crime runs rampant, and nothing changes. Cops literally tell us to arm up since we'll be dead by the time they respond to 911 calls. I'm not kidding you. Would i vote for republicans? No, because theyre horrible on other policies and for all of their bravado on being tough on crime i dont think they're better. Crime is a difficult issue and i kinda do lean toward the whole left wing "we need to approach the underlying issues" thing. BUT...I also live in america where i see poverty as the big source of most crime and social dysfunction. if I lived in mexico and had to deal with militarized cartels who literally assassinate candidates they dont like and aren't going to go away just because some leftist wants to give them a hug, maybe my views would be different.
Anyway, I know Ive been getting crap from some leftists for daring to critique her, saying that apparently we're all eurocentric for doing so and blah blah blah, but eh, context matters a lot and just because someone has the right ideology doesnt mean they're the right person for the job always. Leftists do have a habit of going overboard into cringe at times, and it is a tough balance to walk. I do believe in triangulation to some extent, especially on issues like crime and/or immigration. And yeah we should hold people accountable for being crap. We should criticize their records.
I mean, its the same in the US. I might align with democrats but as you guys know im not ride or die on them. Often times i criticize them from the left, but sometimes i also hit them from the right. Depends on the issue and depends what they're doing. And I honestly think lefties need to be more honest and self critical sometimes. You can acknowledge that someone is good on some issues, and I do believe that, based on my limited understanding, the previous AMLO government was a mixed bag, sometimes doing great things but sometimes dropping the ball. And that seems to be what's continuing. Mexicans probably voted for her because she promised them jobs and let's face it in neoliberal capitalism thats all anyone cares about. But yeah, i also understand my friend's point on the social policy. You cant just be weak on cartels. They're not people who if you hug them they're gonna go away and stop murdering people.
Idk, I dont live there, and maybe if i did id have a different perspective, but i understand where my friend is coming from and yeah. She seems mixed. Like, my sniff test rating of her is like a 50 right now, where in cautiously neutral. Probably doing some great things, but also probably screwing up on the crime issue.
I just wish people would be more honest without taking criticism as an attack of their side. You can acknowledge the advantages of someone while also acknowledging they're kind of crap. It's like with me. Do I like stein's economics? Mostly. Do I like stein's foreign policy? No. She's psycho. And that's why she has a 55 on my metric and not an 80 like AOC. I'm seeing parallels here.
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