Experts are enthusiastic about poverty reductions achieved under former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador

When Amlo took office in 2018, there were nearly 52 million people living below the poverty line: by the time he left office six years later, that number had dropped by 13.4 million, a decrease of almost 26%. Extreme poverty also dropped from nearly 9 million people to just 7 million.

In a country that has long suffered from deep inequality and struggled with economic precarity, the steep drop in the number of people living in poverty is a remarkable achievement and suggests Amlo’s policies had a measurable impact on the lives of millions of everyday Mexicans.

“It’s something extraordinary, historic, the reduction [of poverty],” said Amlo’s successor and ally Claudia Sheinbaum during a news conference on Thursday. “‘For the good of all – first the poor’ is not just a slogan, but a reality in Mexico.”