In the almost six years in which Andrés Manuel López Obrador remained at the head of the Mexican government, there were incidents that put his administration in checkThe president even described them as those with the greatest pain.
He López Obrador’s mandate began in 2018but in his first year at the head of the National Palace, his administration had to respond to difficult situations, especially in terms of security.
Among these events stand out: the attack on LeBaron familythe wave of violence in Sinaloa driven by drug trafficking and later, the health crisis due to covid-19 pandemic.
Explosion in Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo
He theft of cfuel which has seriously damaged the country’s finances, has also claimed the lives of people.
In January 2019, an uncontrolled expulsion of gasoline in Tlahuelipan, Hidalgocaused by huachicolerosencouraged dozens of people to come to collect the hydrocarbon with the intention of selling it, despite it being a crime.
The excessive accumulation caused an explosion in which 137 people died, a situation that the President himself described as: “the most painful of all, the one that hit me the hardest.”
‘El Cualiacanazo’, the operation to capture Ovidio Guzmán
In October 2019, Culiacán, Sinaloa, became a war zone after an operation to arrest Ovidio Guzmán, The Mouse, son of the boss, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.
The call ‘Culiacanazo’which has been the subject of debates in the last years of the current six-year term by the López Obrador’s fight against drug trafficking and organized crimeoriginated because the US government asked Mexico to detain The Mouse.
In the crossfire, the son of El Chapo He surrendered to the authorities, but in response, the attacks intensified. Hundreds of armed youth blocked the streets, kidnapped soldiers and freed 50 prisoners from Aguaruto.
Faced with this scenario, the Mexican government called for a ceasefire, canceled the operation, Guzmán López was released and the violence gradually reduced.
For López Obrador it was a complicated decision, but one that had to be made. However, his government received criticism, but he argued that it was the right thing to do to safeguard human lives.
“The war that broke out in Sinaloa was the shortest war in history, a four-hour war. It was complicated because we made decisions in difficult circumstances, but we consider that we acted well,” he said.
However, on January 5, 2023, a second ‘Culiacanazo’ kept Sinaloa in violence. Federal forces captured Ovidio Guzmán and the Sinaloa Cartel confronted the Mexican Army and the National Guard, leaving a balance of 29 dead, 10 soldiers and the rest of the criminal group.
The attack on the LeBaron family
Another of the complicated situations faced by the six-year term of Andrés Manuel López Obrador was the murder of three women and six children who were members of the LeBaron family.
The crime that occurred in November 2019 not only marked the Mormon community, but also the country. The family left for Chihuahua to attend a cousin’s weddingHowever, in Bavispe, Sonora, an armed group committed the attack that ended in a massacre.
Three weeks after the violent event, the Mexican government announced that the arrest of those allegedly responsible for the crime. They were all members of The Linea violent armed wing that operates in northern Mexico and has been linked to the Juárez Cartel.
However, five years after this event, the family has not found justice or peace, since there are various versions of the motive for the murder, but none of them are certain.
The covid-19 pandemic
In 2020, Mexico and the world went through a health crisis that claimed thousands of human lives, but also caused a financial instability.
That episode, marked by the covid-19 pandemic It was one of the most challenging moments for the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had to respond to health needs.
However, the President assured that the pandemic did not lead to an economic crisis in Mexico, he even stressed that no public debt was acquired to deal with the situation.
The administration had to undertake a economic recovery plan, but in parallel he had to manage the application of vaccines against covid-19 to safeguard Mexicans, since the disease claimed the lives of more than 300 thousand people, between 2020 and 2023.
The fall of Line 12 of the CdMx Metro
May 2021 will be remembered for one of the most tragic moments in the country’s capital: the wagon fall of the Metro Line 12.
That night, the accident occurred when the elevated section collapsed Tlahuacthe unit derailed, causing the death of 26 people and more than 100 were injured.
The expert opinion showed that the fall was due to errors in its design and construction. Therefore, the capital’s Prosecutor’s Office accused former responsible officials and companies involved of homicide, injuries and damage to property.
A challenge that not only Andrés Manuel López Obrador faced, but also his next successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, who at that time served as head of government.
However, Andrés Manuel López Obrador also faced other key events such as: immigration station fire in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, in 2023; he El Pinabete mine collapsein Coahuila, in 2022, as well as some diplomatic pauses and ruptures, among them, the tension with Ecuador.
