Leftist Lopez Obrador sworn in as Mexico's new president
Mexico City, Dec 2: Anti-establishment leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vowed a "deep and radical" change in Mexico as he assumed the country's presidency Saturday, five months after winning a landslide election victory.
The leader, widely known by his initials as "AMLO," took the oath of office and donned the presidential sash before Congress -- where the coalition led by the upstart party he founded four years ago, Morena, now has strong majorities in both houses.
Ending 89 years of government by the same two parties, Lopez Obrador surged to victory in the July 1 elections promising a new approach to issues fuelling widespread outrage: crime, poverty and corruption.
But not everyone is persuaded: critics say the sharp-tongued, silver-haired leader has a radical and authoritarian streak. And despite his promises of business-friendly policies, Mexican stocks and the peso have plunged in recent weeks.
That did not stop Lopez Obrador, 65, from doubling down on his promise of a sweeping "transformation" as he started his six-year term.
"It might seem pretentious or exaggerated to say it, but today is not just the start of a new government. It is the start of a political regime change," he said, the presidential sash newly draped over his dark suit and burgundy tie.
"We will carry out a peaceful and orderly but also deep and radical transformation."
After the traditional swearing-in ceremony, Lopez Obrador climbed in his white Volkswagen Jetta -- his car of choice -- and headed to Mexico City's central square, the Zocalo, for a colourful second ceremony of his own design.
There, indigenous shamans purified him with incense and flowers, and presented him with a symbolic chieftain's staff.
"I reaffirm my commitment not to lie, rob or betray the Mexican people," he said, clutching the long wooden staff.
Jose Angel Mejia, 38, was among the tens of thousands of people who gathered to fete the new president. "It's a historic day, I still can't believe it," he said, raising his eight-year-old son's arm in the air in celebration.
"We're going to have a change at last."
The new president inherits a sticky set of problems from his unpopular predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto.
They include deeply entrenched corruption, gruesome violence fuelled by the war on drug cartels, and the caravan of 6,000 Central American migrants camped at the US-Mexican border -- not to mention the minefield that diplomacy with Mexico's giant northern neighbour has become under President Donald Trump.
Lopez Obrador, a former protest leader and Mexico City mayor, has been short on specifics regarding his plans for all of the above. What he is promising, first and foremost, is a presidency like no other in Mexican history.
Vowing to lead his anti-corruption, pro-austerity drive by example, he has forsworn the presidential residence, jet and security detail, and cut his own salary by 60 per cent.
In a sign of the times, the sumptuous presidential residence, Los Pinos, was opened to the public Saturday as a cultural center.
Lopez Obrador's inaugural address largely repeated the sweeping but vague promises of his campaign.
He resumed his attempts to soothe the markets with promises of balanced budgets and pro-investment policies.
But he also attacked Mexico's "neoliberal" economic model as "a disaster" and railed against Pena Nieto's landmark privatisation of the energy sector.
Lopez Obrador has caused jitters over the future of Latin America's second-largest economy with decisions such as the one to cancel a new USD 13 billion airport for Mexico City that was already one-third complete.
The day's guest list included a host of regional presidents -- among them crisis-torn Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, who was met with protests from Mexico's conservative opposition.
King Felipe VI of Spain, US Vice President Mike Pence, and first daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump also attended.
President Trump, who was at the G20 summit in Argentina, has struck up a surprisingly warm relationship with Lopez Obrador -- though the migrant caravan threatens to interrupt that honeymoon.
The American president is pressuring Lopez Obrador to accept a deal to keep asylum-seeking migrants in Mexico while their claims are processed in the United States.
Lopez Obrador's foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, is due in Washington on Sunday for talks on the issue with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
