In Mexico, primary candidate proposes central role for president's son in next administration

MEXICO CITY — A primary candidate for Mexico’s June 2024 presidential elections proposed Monday giving the president’s son a central role in the next administration.

The proposal by candidate Marcelo Ebrard raised the specter of a national political dynasty being born in Mexico, where traditionally they were frowned on.

Ebrard said that if he wins the nomination of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party, he would appoint the president’s son, Andrés Manuel López Beltrán — better known as Andy — to a newly created Cabinet post to ensure his father’s legacy.

While López Beltrán has not publicly commented on the proposal, it would appear to be a way to solve a central problem for Morena.

The young, disparate party was largely found around, and centered on, López Obrador's personal popularity and charisma, which all the contenders to succeed him lack. The six-way primary race will be decided in September by a series of polls.

The inclusion of his son was an obvious bid by Ebrard, the centrist former foreign relations secretary, to ensure continuity and perhaps to attract some of the president's most devoted followers. Ebrard said the son would be put in charge of a Cabinet-level department “to continue building on the legacy” left by López Obrador.

López Beltrán has not held any formal post in his father's administration, but has been widely reported to be a behind-the-scenes dealmaker and influencer in political and economic matters.

While family dynasties have governed some parts of Mexico at the municipal or even state level, for nearly 100 years an ironclad rule has prevailed on the federal level: the outgoing president agrees to retire from political activity, as does his immediate family. In exchange, incoming presidents have seldom investigated corruption on the part of their predecessors.