Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as AMLO, has highlighted the strengthening of Mexico’s currency against the US dollar during his administration. In a recent statement, he claimed that “the Moral Economy is better than neoliberalism” as he shared a statistical graph showing the exchange rate in his country. The peso has seen a significant appreciation compared to the dollar, and López Obrador noted that poverty and inequality are reducing.
This comes after a public spat with Argentine President Javier Milei, who recently called López Obrador “ignorant” in an interview. López Obrador had previously criticized Milei, and the tension escalated as Milei accused the Mexican president of implementing extreme neoliberalism in Argentina.
In response, López Obrador accepted the “ignorant” label and criticized Milei for his remarks about Pope Francis. Meanwhile, Argentina continues to face economic challenges, with a recent report showing a decline in economic activity due to high inflation and a shock adjustment policy by the government.
The exchange of words between the two presidents reflects broader tensions between different economic ideologies and approaches to governance in Latin America. López Obrador’s emphasis on the strength of Mexico’s economy and poverty reduction contrasts with Milei’s struggles in Argentina, shedding light on the complexities of economic policy in the region.