
Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during a press conference to announce Marcelo Ebrard's appointment as foreign minister on July 5 in Mexico City. As he assumes power, Lopez Obrador's first task will be to consolidate his power.
With a transfer of government just over the horizon, Mexico's domestic political scene is in for some monumental changes. On Dec. 1, power will pass to President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador — known almost universally by his nickname "AMLO" – and his political alliance. The coalition, led by AMLO's National Regeneration Movement (Morena), has never previously held the presidency but now controls it, as well as both houses of Congress. Despite the presence of ideologues within the incoming coalition, it will first focus its considerable resources on the more mundane task of cementing its power as the foremost political force in Mexico. But such outsized domestic power will ultimately give the new government a chance to turn its attention to matters of ideological interest — and that could create difficulties for some investors, especially in the energy sector.