President López Obrador intends to maintain a low profile after leaving office at the end of his six-year term.
He told reporters Tuesday that he will retire in September 2024 provided a majority of citizens support the continuation of his presidency at a planned “revocation of mandate” referendum next year.
AMLO, as the president is best known, has pledged to leave office early if his rule is rejected at the vote, which was slated to be held in April but was indefinitely postponed by the National Electoral Institute on the grounds it doesn’t have sufficient funds to organize it.
“If … we have the confidence of the people and they want us to continue, [I’ll stay on as president] but only until September of 2024,” AMLO said.
“… I’m going to retire; I’ve already said that I won’t participate in political activities or conferences or any public act or ceremony,” he said.
“… I’m not going to … make declarations of any kind,” López Obrador added, asserting that he won’t even intervene to help his friends if they find themselves in problematic situations.
“I’m going to turn off my phone. My sons and my grandchildren will always be welcome [at my Palenque ranch], but zero politics because we have to hand the baton to those who come behind us.”
López Obrador has previously said that he intends to retire to his ranch to write a book. He said Tuesday that it will be on “conservative thought,” one of his favorite punching bags.
(The president frequently describes his critics and predecessors as conservatives and neoliberals, and blames conservatism and neoliberalism for all manner of ills in Mexico.)
“I’m going to dedicate myself to researching and writing a book … about conservative thought, which is an extremely important issue that I’m very interested in. … [The book] will be a contribution to the new generations. That’s basically what I’m going to dedicate myself to,” AMLO said.
“What will I live on? Well, I have, or I will have, the right to my Issste [State Workers Social Security Institute] pension. … And [my wife] Beatriz has her work, she’s a researcher, and [we have] savings, that’s what we’ll live on. Besides I’m not used to a … life of luxury,” said the famously austere president who has eschewed personal bodyguards and makes a habit of eating in humble eateries while touring the country.
“… I believe in humility, I believe that one should have the basics, the essentials, and that’s what I want for all the people of Mexico. … In my philosophy money has never interested me, never.”
López Obrador, who triumphed at the 2018 presidential election after finishing second at the previous two, said that he will dedicate himself completely to his work in the coming years so that he can leave the presidency with no regrets.
“I’m not going to fail the people, … from now until September [2024] nothing but hard work,” he said.
Mexico News Daily
