A Morena party candidate for deputy in Coahuila has been both criticized and praised after comparing President López Obrador to Jesus Christ and some of the world’s most revered leaders.

Antonio Attolini, who wants to represent the city of Torreón in the lower house of Congress, made the comparison in an interview broadcast on Monday, saying that López Obrador could be described as “similar to the greatest leaders in history” because of his dedication to “the idea of sacrifice in the name of something bigger.”

Probed about the leaders to whom he was referring, Attolini told the program Tragaluz:

“Jesus Christ, of course, Mahatma Gandhi, [Martin] Luther King, [Nelson] Mandela; he’s at that level.”

Attolini, 30, also said that AMLO, as the president is commonly known, has been inspired by Mexico’s “great leaders,” including former presidents Benito Juárez and Lázaro Cárdenas and independence hero Miguel Hidalgo.

“There hasn’t been a social leader in this country who dedicates so much time of his life to thinking about others,”  he said.

The candidate, a former aspirant to the Morena party national presidency, said that he was speaking of his own accord, asserting that the National Palace – the seat of executive power – had not instructed him what to say and what not to say during the interview.

His Jesus-AMLO analogy triggered an outpouring of commentary on social media.

“I met Attolini when he was the complete opposite of what he is today; people change when they cross the line of opportunistic fanaticism. Their reasoning is clouded and they say complete nonsense,” Angélica de la Peña, a former Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) senator and deputy, wrote on Twitter.

Fernando Belaunzarán, another former PRD lawmaker, wrote on the same platform that it’s known that the president likes to be flattered and for that reason “the brown-nosing competition is out of control.”  

Alejandro Rosas, a writer, simply called the candidate an “idiot” while comedian and YouTuber Chumel Torres wrote that Attolini’s remarks made him want to give him a “good whack.”

In contrast, political analyst Abraham Mendieta described the candidate’s performance on the program as “excellent.”

Source: El Universal (sp)