The age of government matters
Gerontocracy isn’t just about governance, it puts political continuity at stake.
Don’t miss the final installment on our two part report on Mexican unionism coming out next week.
Every time Mexico hints that it’s worrying about the age of its 70 year-old president—now in his final two months in office—Andrés Manuel López Obrador trots out a trusty old adage he has been using since at least 2012:
“Estoy joven, lo que pasa es que estoy aflojado en terracería.” (I’m young, it's just that I’m worse for wear.)
It usually gets a chuckle. But what really fends off criticism about his age is the president’s intense work schedule; starting with daily 5am security meetings followed by a 6am presser. The presidency has certainly aged the president, replacing the fiery speeches of his youth with slow musings. Yet, as opposed to the 81 year-old forced to pull out of the US presidential race this week, the charge that López Obrador is too old for office simply hasn’t stuck.
Eleven years sit between the presidents of Mexico and the US. The incoming Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, will be even younger at 62. But beyond the discussions about a leader’s ability to keep up with the pace of high executive office as they get on in years, age is also crucial in determining the makeup of government and the future of the State more generally.
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