Mexican electoral court: President can't praise achievements

Mexico's electoral tribunal has ruled that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador cannot talk about his administration's achievements during the campaign leading up to June 6 mid-term elections

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Mexico’s electoral tribunal ruled Wednesday that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador cannot talk about his administration’s achievements during the campaign leading up to June 6 mid-term elections.

The court’s ruling places the president in a tough spot. López Obrador has held news conferences almost every weekday since he took office in late 2018.

During the hundreds of roughly two-hour daily press briefings, he routinely talks about progress on his pet projects, including an oil refinery, a new Mexico City airport and a train line in the Yucatan peninsula.

However, the court ruled that all government officials must “avoid things that constitute political, personal or electoral propaganda, government achievements” that might influence the outcome of the elections.

López Obrador frequently uses the news conferences to slam critics of his administration, calling them “conservatives,” “hypocritical,” “thieves” and “corrupt.”

His Morena party hopes to hold on to its grip on congress and pick up several governorships in the June 6 elections.

The president has described himself as stubborn, and it remains unclear how much he will change the content of the news conferences.