The Fourth Transformation () is Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's (commonly known as "AMLO") 2018 campaign promise to do away with "privileged abuses", namely those of previous decades' high government officials. López Obrador defined the first three transformations as the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821), the Reform War (1858–1861) and the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917).
Obrador's term "privileged abuses" mainly refers to the high salaries and luxurious lifestyles of high government officials, which were seen as "abuses" in the context of a high poverty level in Mexico. López Obrador aimed to lower salaries for not only the president but also Cabinet members and high-level bureaucrats, justices of the Supreme Court (SCJN), legislators, and members of independent agencies such as the electoral commission (INE) and the census office (INEGI). In addition to salaries, López Obrador mentioned luxury vehicles including airplanes and helicopters; expensive private health insurance in addition to the program for government officials (ISSSTE); expense accounts for bodyguards, gasoline, cell phones, and food; and a lack of transparency.
Definition
In a speech given at the end of his campaign for president, López Obrador outlined the meaning of the Fourth Transformation. He called for a nation of laws wherein nothing is outside the law and no one is above the law. He said the security services would be reformed so that no one was spied upon and religion, ideas, and the right to dissent would be respected. AMLO called for a true democracy guaranteeing free elections and prison for electoral fraud. He called for an end of corruption and said the law should apply not only to government officials but also to their families. He said he would reform the Constitution so that even the president could be prosecuted for corruption. He called for a popular consultation process after three years to determine whether the president should be recalled. He insisted that luxuries, such as high salaries for government officials, the presidential airplane and official residence, bodyguards, and presidential pensions should be cut or eliminated.
AMLO also called for increased attention to the needs of rural communities, revitalization of the construction industry, improvements in the energy sector, pensions for elderly Mexicans, free medicine, and improved education with access for all.
Forbes Mexico, in a September 2018 article said that the Fourth Transformation presents an opportunity for Mexico to move forward as a true democracy. It could not depend on one political party and must move beyond campaign slogans. The authors, Nicola Morfini and Bernardo Sainz Martínez of the Pan American Institute for High Business Management (IPADE), argue that Mexico is at a crossroads: the large margin of victory by Juntos Haremos Historia in the 2018 election makes true change possible while also highlighting the possibility of regression. They warn that if decision-making depends exclusively on National Regeneration Movement (Morena), the legislature could lose power as it did under the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Given the high poverty levels in the country, the authors suggest that popular democracy may be easily manipulated. They point out that many members of Morena were once members of PRI, which should have a moderating effect on political changes. Finally, they conclude that the future of Mexico depends on everyone.
Background: the first three transformations President Lopez Obrador cites three previous periods of transformation in history of Mexico: the Independence Movement (1810-1821), La Reforma (1858-1861), and the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917). While all three events involved extreme violence, AMLO insists that the fourth transformation be peaceful.
Mexican War of Independence
After nearly 300 years of Spanish colonization, on the morning of September 16, 1810, Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo called the people of Dolores Hidalgo to take up arms against their Spanish overlords. Hidalgo took up a banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe. After a few battles, Hidalgo had gathered a ragtag, disorganized army of 80,000. Hidalgo's army was eventually defeated, and Hidalgo was defrocked and beheaded. His chief collaborator, Ignacio Allende was also captured and beheaded.
Hidalgo's disciple, Father José María Morelos took up the struggle, winning 22 battles in nine months. Morelos convened the Congress of Chilpancingo, which declared independence, abolished slavery and the caste system, and declared Catholicism the state religion. However, Morelos soon was defeated, caught, and executed.
For five years, the insurgents were confined mostly to guerrilla warfare, led by Guadalupe Victoria near Puebla and Vicente Guerrero in the mountains of Oaxaca. By 1819, the Spanish viceroy, Juan Ruiz de Apodaca was able to report that the situation was under control.
Events in Spain led to a weakening of the crown, With Guerrero, he wrote the Plan of Iguala. Iturbide, Guerrero, and Victoria marched on Mexico City; on September 27, 1821, they defeated the Spanish and Mexico consolidated its independence.
Iturbide became emperor of the new nation, but three years later he was deposed and a republic was established with Guadalupe Victoria as its first president.
Reform War
La Reforma (the Reform) was a liberal movement led by Benito Juárez in 1857 to disestablish the power of the Catholic Church; establish separation of Church and State; reduce the power of the military; and establish civil registry of births, marriages, and deaths. Conservatives fought back, leading to the War of Reform (1858-1861). The liberals won the war, but the war left the country weak, and it was soon followed by the French intervention, and the establishment of the Second Mexican Empire with Maximilian I of Austria as emperor (1864-1867). Juarez and the liberals retook power in 1867.
Mexican Revolution
After an unsuccessful electoral campaign against President and dictator Porfirio Díaz, on November 20, 1910, Francisco I. Madero called the Mexican people to arms. In 30 years of rule, Diaz had modernized the country and established a growing economy, but he had done so by granting numerous concessions to British and American investors while denying basic liberties to peasant farmers, miners, and workers. In a bad year, such as 1908–1909, the peasants were reduced to virtual slavery. Within six months of Madero's call to arms, Diaz had resigned and the moderate, middle-class Madero became president.
Madero's moderate reforms were not satisfactory to peasant leaders such as Pancho Villa in the north and Emiliano Zapata in the south. Fighting continued, and full warfare broke out. Madero was overthrown by the army and assassinated in early 1913 by Victoriano Huerta, who after thirteen months of harsh rule and fierce fighting was overthrown and executed. There were numerous small bands led by local warlords; eventually, many of them gave up while others united under Venustiano Carranza. Carranza was able to consolidate his power, and on February 5, 1917, he published the Constitution of 1917, which many see as the end of the Mexican Revolution. However, fighting continued well into the 1920s.
Major acts and affairs A year after the election and seven months since he took office, President López Obrador stated that he had fulfilled 78 of the 100 promises he had made, including ending the Drug War. He also said that the state has stopped being the principal human rights violator. He promised to end corruption and admitted that there is still a lot of work to do in questions of the economy, health, and public safety.
Infrastructure President Lopez Obrador announced an MXN $859 billion (US$44 billion) investment plan for 147 infrastructure projects in November 2019. The investments are in highways, railways, ports, and airports as well as investments in telecommunications with most of the capital coming from the private sector. "This is of the highest importance," said Lopez Obrador. "Participation of the private sector in the country’s growth is necessary."
Priority energy projects are the coking plant in Tula, Hidalgo (MXN $40 billion), the refinery in Cadereyta, Nuevo León (MXN $17 billion), and the Pemex Gas Processing Complex to the Mayakán pipeline in Macuspana, Tabasco (MXN $1 billion). MXN $219 is destined for the port of Topolobampo, Sinaloa and the port in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán is scheduled to receive MXN $41 million. MXN $14,152 is earmarked for 15 airport improvements, particularly in Cancun and Merida. An MXN $86.161 million investment is expected from telecommunications companies. Thirty-three projects may begin in 2020 with an investment of MXN $78 billion—other airport investments, railroads, highways, a new hospital for Torreón, Coahuila, and other energy projects. Fourteen projects worth MXN $21.356 billion (US$14 million), including the expansion of the Cuautitlán-Huehuetoca train in the State of Mexico, are planned for 2021.
Construction of a new airport for Mexico City
During the 2018 campaign for president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador opposed the construction of the Mexico City Texcoco Airport (NAIM), the principal infrastructure project of President Enrique Peña Nieto. AMLO complained about costs, corruption, and environmental concerns such as unstable soil on the bed of Lake Texcoco. He said it would be better to convert the military base of Santa Lucia in Zumpango, State of Mexico, to civilian use.
Ending the Texcoco project was highly controversial so after winning the election Lopez Obrador decided to submit the proposal to the people of Mexico. A popular consultation was held across the country, from October 25–28, 2018. The option to convert the Santa Lucia airport to civilian use and to improve the existing Benito Juárez International Airport and Toluca International Airports won with 69.95% of the votes: 748,335 for Santa Lucia and 311,132 in favor of Texcoco. The NAIM debt ran into MXN $105 billion (US$5.6 billion) when it was paid off in July 2019. The debt for cancellation of the NAIM has already been paid: López Obrador Forbes Mexico, July 27, 2019
Conversion of the airport in Zumpango, which was renamed General Felipe Ángeles Airport, began on October 18, 2019. It has two runways for civilian use and one for military use and it was inaugurated despite not being complete on March 21, 2022.
Maya train
The Maya Train project, first proposed in September 2018, is a 1,525-kilometer (948-mile) railroad that will traverse the Yucatán Peninsula in the hopes of boosting tourism and boost the economy in one of the most marginalized areas of the country. The US $6.2-billion project was approved by 92.3% of the voters who participated in the December 14–15, 2019 referendum. Critics worry about environmental effects, threats to local indigenous cultures, and economic benefits that will include communities that do not have one of the 18 stops along the route. Another concern is that construction seems to be rushed in the hope of finishing before the end of AMLO's term in 2024. The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) promises to resist construction of the train, and the Mexico office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (ONU-DH) has criticized the consultation process, saying it fell short of international standards. Giovanna Gasparello of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) points out that there no studies linking the project and development have been published. 93% of the 100,940 people who voted in the referendum supported the project, but they represent only 2.86% of the 3,526,000 registered voters.
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