Spain's El País blasts Manuel López Obrador

And the candidate fires right back

Spain's El País, the most influential newspaper in the country and one of the most respected in Europe, today called defeated PRD candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador a poor loser and a "dead weight" on his leftist Democratic Revolution Party.

The lead editorial was published in Madrid under the title "Obrador es un lastre." Lastre means a burden or weight.

El País wrote that there is "no evidence of widespread irregularities" in the July 1 election. Mexico's federal electoral authority says PRI candidate Enrique Peña Nieto won by more than 3.3 million votes, or 6.62% of the total cast.

The paper acknowledged that rising "street protests make it clear that many Mexicans are unhappy with PRI's return to power. But the disquieting return of a party which is intimately associated with corruption . . . cannot hide the fact that the populist Obrador has always been a bad loser."

El País noted that in 2006, after López Obrador's narrow (0.56%) loss to Felipe Calderón, the leftitst "declared himself president and for months headed a destabilizing street protest in the capital."

Today's editorial suggested that it's time for a new leader to take the PRD helm, someone who is "much more in sync with the realities of Mexico." The paper mentioned popular Federal District governor Marcelo Ebrard, who has already announced that he will begin campaigning for the 2018 presidential contest in December, after he completes his present term in office.

"The Mexican Left has failed in its efforts to reach the presidency since 1988. For López Obrador's fellow travelers it would appear that the time has arrived to ask themselves if it serves to have a twice defeated leader, a man with a tendency to see himself as a victim of conspiracies, and with an abrasive and paralyzing style."

AMLO's acerbic response
The fiery leftist gave no quarter in replying to El País. In a Twitter message to followers, the candidate bitterly characterized the editorial as an example of "colonial journalism." Referring to the severe economic woes which the once great imperial power is now facing (including 25% unemployment), López Obrador told the prestigious paper, "It would be better to focus on your own responsibility in the disaster which is Spain." Ouch.

July 13 - Andrés Manuel López Obrador fires in all directions
July 11 - Memo to Andrés Manuel López Obrador: "Ya basta, señor"