what can be written about three-time presidential candidate andrés manuel lópez obrador that mexicans haven’t read before? not much. that’s why information about him in english is excellent practice.
andrés manel lópez obrador: the presidential candidate presents an outstanding opportunity for english practice
if u live in mexico, u have almost certainly seen or heard these descriptions of amlo in spanish, so they should be easier to understand in english—-starting with these details from reuters…
the leftist former mayor of mexico city, lopez obrador has become voters’ firm favorite ahead of the july 1 election, vowing to lower violence, attack decades of political graft and focus attention on the poor.
mayor is the top executive in a city or town. former means lópez obrador was previously mayor of mexico city. leftist indicates that his proposals, positions and ideas represent the political left. vow is swear, promise. graft is corruption, bribes.
lópez obrador was mayor of mexico city from 2000-2005. (cuartoscuro)
the fields here in the central mexican state of zacatecas will spring back to life, which will provide people with jobs and, in turn, stem the outward flow of migrants to america.
spring back means vibrantly return. in turn means will cause. stem means reduce.
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the current administration in the u.s. wants to stem immigration by building a bigger border wall (JR)
caftan and reel explain that lópez obrador has
a seeming willingness to tear down any institution he believes is biased against his political movement and a bitter reluctance, regardless of the circumstances, to give up.
seeming means that’s how it appears. willingness is a disposition to do. tear down means destroy. biased is the opposite of objective. reluctance is the opposite of willingness. bitter is angry, resentful. regardless means it doesn’t matter what the circumstances are. give up means quit.
in 2006, when many believed lópez obrador won the election. he was not willing to give up for several months. (wikipedia)
but the biggest issue facing amlo has always been how mexican (and global) business leaders perceive him…
they fear his brand of populism is fueled by a false nostalgia for simpler times—a mythical era that was never that good to begin with—and they’re afraid he might roll back 25 years of economic modernization.
fuel, a verb in this scenario, means power, drive. roll back means remove, go back in time. it’s a useful example of the auxiliary verb might (maybe) as well.
fuel as a noun (study.com)
the associated press remembers
in 2006, business groups took out ads against lópez obrador that may have cost him the election.
take out means buy: it’s typical to use when in relation to advertising. may have cost is a hypothetical idea in the past–third conditional. might could substitute for may, but it’s a questionable use of the 3rd conditional structure. the ads that business groups took out against lópez obrador in 2006 DEFINITELY cost him the election.
current president enrique peña nieto’s campaign took out a bunch of ads on youtube in 2012.
they also report that amlo has vowed that…
if elected, he would cancel a planned $1.2 billion purchase of about eight seahawk helicopters from the united states…..because “we don’t want war or an arms race, we want peace, and peace comes from justice.”
if elected, he would cancel is a hypothetical possibility: 2nd conditional, using the structure if + past tense + would. purchase means buy. $1.2 billion is an adjective phrase and thus the whole idea is pronounced one point two billion dollar purchase.
amlo would cancel the purchase of eight seahawk helicopters, if elected.
reuters, like the associated press, shows how andrés manuel has established himself as the peace candidate. he..
promises to demilitarize the battle against the country’s criminal organizations and has even explored a divisive, albeit vague, proposal for a criminal amnesty so that gangsters curb the violence.
albeit is although or if. curb means limit, reduce.
it’s natural to get angry when u are learning english, but try to curb your frustration. (9gag)
regardless of what amlo proposes to remedy mexico’s social problems, his detractors (critics) generally say he is a socialist with plans to turn mexico into castro’s cuba or chavez’s venezuela. but in a piece by kate linthicum on the la times website, david smilde of the washington office on latin america is quoted saying
if u get beyond the rhetoric and look at his actual record, he seems like a moderate progressive trying to work outside of mexico’s traditional political class.
and linthicum observes that
so far, the criticism of lopez obrador doesn’t seem to be working. his pledges to reduce inequality have won him broad support, particularly in the poorest parts of the country.
beyond means past. rhetoric is political communication. actual is real; it is NOT now or current like actual in spanish. so far means until now. a pledge is a serious promise. broad means wide or in this context, a lot of.
a burger king whopper ad vs an actual whopper
and on bloomberg, cattan and reel present the same reality for amlo.
the millions who dwell in mexico’s impoverished countryside remain his ever-reliable base,….but it’s the residents of mexico’s north, in cities such as monterrey, who will determine whether this year is different for him from 2006 or 2012.
dwell means live. ever in this example is always. reliable means dependable, devoted. such as is for presenting examples. whether is similar to if.
will 2018 be different from 2006 or 2012 for amlo?
do u live in mexico? what are your feelings about andrés lópez obrador? share them under leave a reply
