Word: portillo
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...were in a rejoicing mood. More than 150,000 of them (out of a population of 1.9 million) showed up at the Albrook rally, which was attended by Vice President Walter Mondale and the leaders of many Latin American governments. They shrieked in joy as Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo, fresh from his summit with Jimmy Carter, praised "the disappearance of the humiliating injustice of the enclave that has long divided" Central America. Notably absent from the ceremonies was Panamanian Strongman Omar Torrijos Herrera, who had negotiated the pact with the U.S. He apparently did not wish to upstage...
...legacy of Emiliano Zapata's battle cry, "Land and Liberty," is sporadic violence. Peasants who protest the ruthless domination of local rural political bosses are routinely shot by their oppressors or harassed by the army. Land redistribution has apparently reached a dead end, as López Portillo conceded during his state of the union address a month ago. Said he: "The land available for distribution is becoming exhausted, but the number of campesinos with the right to the land is growing...
Even today, Mexicans remain puzzled as to why Echeverria chose Lopez Portillo as his successor. Although the two had been friends since their student days at the National University, they had little in common. Echeverria was a politician to his ringer tips, and something of a political demagogue. Lopez Portillo was an unknown technocrat and law professor who had never run for public office. The outgoing President was almost strident in his efforts to establish Mexico as a leader of the Third World. His successor appeared to be a dedicated academic, most comfortable when studying archaeology or writing a novelette...
Appearances deceive. "Don Pepe," says an admiring countryman, "is a real he-man." Far from being an otherworldly intellectual, Lopez Portillo is a tough-minded leader with an abrasive streak and a bent for professorial oratory: he often salts his speeches with fire-and-brimstone references to the Aztec past. During his state of the union address, for example, in speaking of the oil spill in the Bay of Campeche, he made references to an ancient god and the Aztec mistress of the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes. "In the depths of this flaming well," he intoned, "we Mexicans have seen...
...theory, prevalent at the time of his nomination, was that after leaving office Echeverria secretly hoped to manipulate López Portillo from behind the scenes. A more plausible explanation is that the former President recognized how deep Mexico's malaise really was, and in a statesmanlike manner settled on a capable economist who could restore business confidence. When he handed over the sash of office on inauguration day, a newsman asked: "What is going to happen to the Echeverristas now?" The ex-President answered: "There are no Echeverristas, only López Portillistas...