Mexico’s president acknowledges end to killings far away

MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office two years ago promising to transform Mexico, but he acknowledged Tuesday that some pledges have been hard to keep.

The president said in a sober, restrained ceremony marking his second anniversary in office that “there is still a long way to go to bring peace to the country.”

Homicide rates have barely budged from his predecessor’s last year in office, with Mexico still registering about 3,000 homicides per month.

Nor has the coronavirus pandemic slowed the killings, though the disease itself has killed about 106,000 people in Mexico and has devastated the economy.

López Obrador touted progress in the fight against corruption and in government building projects, and claimed that over 70% of Mexicans want him to go on governing. Still, the country is more polarized than ever between his supporters and those who oppose him.

He said the government austerity drive had saved the country billions, but acknowledged his plan to transfer centralized government offices to cities throughout the country was a promise that he hadn’t fulfilled.

“Not everything is perfect,” he said, but added “we have established the basis for transforming Mexico.”