McCormick Weighs In on Mexican President AMLO’s Seizure of Billionaire’s Rail Line in Bloomberg

June 2, 2023

Bloomberg

Gladys McCormick

History Department

Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict & Collaboration

Government

International Affairs

Latin America & the Caribbean

Bloomberg

Gladys McCormick

A 120-kilometer stretch of a rail line owned by billionaire German Larrea was recently seized by Mexico's Navy under a presidential decree citing "public use," meaning that it serve a greater benefit for the government.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) denied that the government had expropriated Larrea’s rail; it had acted only to recover a concession, or the permit to manage the railroad.

The president’s decree came after a series of controversial moves that have begun making businesspeople skittish about the prospects of investing at this time in Mexico.

Gladys McCormick, associate professor of history and Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations, says Lopez Obrador’s recent actions reflect the "sort of populist demagogue persona that he’s carved out for himself," and that it’s all been part of a perfect recipe "for him to be go out there in public and remind people that he is, above all, for Mexico."

Read more in the Bloomberg article, "AMLO's Seizure of a Billionaire's Rail Line Is Making Investors Wary of Mexico."