Social policy in Mexico’s Fourth Transformation. An assessment of López Obrador’s first year in office

Abstract

After Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)’s triumph in the 2018 presidential elections, high expectations emerged about his presidency, particularly in relation to the fight against poverty and the provision of social welfare in Mexico. In order to offer some initial results that would allow us evaluating his management, this research note analyzes the social policy of the self-defined «Government of the Fourth Transformation» during its first year in office. The research note concludes that during 2019 the social policy in Mexico was focused on increasing resources to attend to marginalized spaces and vulnerable groups. However, those efforts may become unsuccessful in effectively combating poverty and overcoming the conceptual, strategic, institutional and operational shortcomings of the actual social policy in the country; whereas they may deepen its use as an instrument for political patronage.