Seven years have passed since the Fourth Transformation, a process of historical transformation founded by Andrés Manuel López Obrador who, on the occasion of the announcement of his latest book “Greatness”, indicated that he would come out of retirement for only three reasons: to defend national sovereignty, democracy or President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Precisely the first, national sovereignty, appears more strongly as the global reordering pushed by President Donald Trump opens clear challenges for the self-determination and autonomy of the countries of Latin America.
Who would have thought at the start of the Fourth Transformation that the main challenges to advance to the second floor of this Nation project would not come from the “morally defeated” opposition and in a catatonic state since 2018, but from a policy of constant pressure by the US government and its attempt to restore an openly interventionist hegemony.
There is no doubt that we are facing what various media had already called the Doctrine Donroea reimagining of the doctrine originally articulated by President James Monroe in 1823. From the beginning of his second term, Trump showed his unusual interest in America, with outlandish announcements such as taking over the Panama Canal, turning Canada into the 51st state, or renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
A few days ago he made explicit the foreign policy roadmap to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, in which he enunciated “a new Trump Corollary of the Monroe Doctrine… to protect our national territory and our access to key geographies throughout the region.”
What is expressed in this document about the American National Security Strategy is not new. Since the beginning of his mandate, under the mantle of combating drug trafficking, President Trump has been orchestrating a two-track strategy; on the one hand, the threat of military operations against alleged drug traffickers; and on the other, political intervention in national elections.
Examples abound. The military deployment around the Venezuelan regime consisting of naval attacks and threats of land incursions into that country; the clear interference of the Trump government in favor of right-wing candidates in the elections of Honduras, Peru and Argentina and, in contrast, the “stick” strategy that it applies to left-wing governments such as Cuba, Colombia and Nicaragua.
Like her predecessor, the Mexican president has achieved a solid defense of national interests in the face of Trump’s more aggressive return to the White House, through a position that has vindicated traditional principles of Mexican foreign policy and that is also consistent with the vision of the project for which she was democratically elected in 2024, making the siege of the northern neighbor an opportunity to reaffirm Mexico’s strategic position in America.
What lies ahead are crucial years for the national regeneration project, given the proximity of the 2027 midterm election and, as has already been seen in other Latin American countries, the blatant interference of the United States to tip the balance towards candidates who align with its interests.
The Fourth Transformation is advancing toward its most difficult test since its origin, under the leadership of a president who has the popular legitimacy and political strength to dialogue as equals, and who has been successful in dissuading protectionist and other measures coming from the White House, with a more reliable strategy in the fight against drug trafficking and insecurity.
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