Summary

When Mexicans head to the polls on July 1, they’ll be bringing their brooms. The country appears to be the next stop of the populist wave sweeping establishment parties out of power throughout the democratic world. The current frontrunner is Andres Manuel López Obrador, often known by his initials AMLO, who leads the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA). According to recent polls, Obrador enjoys the support of 37.7% of likely voters. He is trailed by Ricardo Anaya of the National Action Party (PAN) with 20%. José Antonio Meade of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) is currently in third place with just 17%, setting the stage for a savage defeat for incumbent president Enrique Peña Nieto’s party.

The story of Mexico’s election is one that’s becoming increasingly familiar, that of an outsider (though this is AMLO’s third presidential run) benefiting from voter exhaustion amid a corrupt and ineffective political establishment.

But will AMLO be able to cure what ails Mexico?