The change comes to Mexico. This time, no blood will be shed | Sergio Aguayo | Opinion

T On his Sunday, Andrés Manuel López Obrador became the elected President of Mexico. He won because he convinced a majority that through him, a regime change in Mexico can be achieved by peaceful means – and without triggering a civil war. It will be a first in the history of our country.

In his final campaign speech, López Obrador announced that his government will push for a "peaceful but radical" transformation. He then added that "we have not done all this effort simply for superficial changes, for the lip service."

The coming task is monumental because of four major challenges that Mexico faces today: violence, corruption, inequality and Donald Trump. Their resistance to his government will be vast and the result uncertain.

To understand the meaning of this moment, we must look at the history of the left in Mexico, and how it has faced countless mbadacres, badbadinations, electoral fraud and display of campaigns over the years. Indeed, the life story of Andrés Manuel López Obrador is involved in this movement.

Before 1968, left-wing parties were marginalized or irrelevant. When a student movement appeared that year, peacefully demanding less state violence and more freedoms for citizens, the then president sent his guards firing on a crowd without defense. The night of Tlatelolco continues to be engraved not only on individual memories, but also on our collective consciousness.

From this tragedy came the generation of the transition. Some took up arms, while most of us used peaceful means while we continued to promote the 68 agenda as professors, journalists, activists, trade unionists or professional politicians representing newly created political parties. We have also devoted ourselves to the reconstruction of past events in order to transmit them to future generations.

These efforts were part of the Mexican transformation. In the 1970s, the modern human rights movement was born in order to take care of the victims of the dirty war against guerrilla warfare, subsequently encompbading many other issues. In addition, the left-wing parties were legalized and, in the 1988 presidential elections, managed to engage with the right-wing party to turn the poll into a lever for change. In the 80s began an alternation that gradually undermined the ruling party (PRI).

Then, in 1994, we saw the force of non-violence. In Chiapas, marginalized indigenous peoples revolted and the Zapatista National Liberation Army announced that it was launching an offensive against the "capital of the nation, to defeat the army". Once the fighting started, the social and political left poured into the streets, demanding a ceasefire from the government and insurgents. Both the government and the insurgents acceded to the petition and in the presidential elections of that year, the Zapatistas join the demand for "free and democratic elections".

From this decisive moment came the great electoral reform of 1996, which allowed the defeat of the ruling party (PRI) in the year 2000. With Vicente Fox of the right wing, PAN began the year. one of the most unfortunate stages of the transition. commitments. More seriously, the three major parties (including the left-wing PRD) were contaminated by corruption and inefficiency, while the state weakened and de facto powers emerged, including crime. organized

During Fox's administration, López Obrador's career as a presidential candidate began. As head of the government of Mexico, he distinguished himself by his personal honesty and a reasonably effective administration, far removed from radicalism. In 2006, he competed for the presidency. Although he led in the polls, he lost due to strategic mistakes, personality flaws, and mbadive electoral fraud. In 2012, he made another attempt and failed, although his relentless national prospection allowed him to build a new political and social base.

He learned from these lessons and in 2018, deployed an impeccable campaign that took advantage of the mistakes of his opponents and the discredit of the corrupt and inept parties. López Obrador is supported by a formidable coalition of political, social and cultural forces, based on veteran leftist organizations that have tolerated the alliances that the candidate has chosen with conservative organizations.

Today, the future of Mexico is wrought. Let us deliver a brief moment of celebration as the Mexican left has resisted aggression and temptation without altering its faith in non-violence – and that it has been rewarded for its perseverance.

• Sergio Aguayo Quezada is a Mexican scholar. His op-ed was translated from Spanish by Tanya Huntington