Andrés Manuel López Obrador during his closing campaign rally in Mexico City, June 27, 2018 (Edgard Garrido / Reuters)

Mexico is interesting, all too. (“May you live in interesting times,” goes an ancient Chinese curse, or what is said to be such a curse.) In Mexico, the murder rate is way, way up. At the beginning of this year, I traveled to Mexico to report on the murder of journalists there. Several people told me, “Yes, but you have to remember: People from many walks of life are getting murdered.” (For my report, go here.)


This morning, I read a shocking line: “132 candidates or politicians have been killed since the launch of Mexico’s electoral campaign in September.” Can this be true? It is.

I talk about murder, and other issues, with an expert: David Luhnow, the Latin America editor of the Wall Street Journal. He is my guest on Q&A. Luhnow is an American who grew up in Mexico City, where he works today. (His father was a businessman there.) David has a brother, Jeff, who is the general manager of the Houston Astros. I don’t know how they’ve been doing lately. I have little consciousness of life outside the Detroit Tigers.

David and I talk about the economy, corruption, the United States — and the man who will almost surely be the next president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as “AMLO.” He is a left-wing populist and “old-fashioned Mexican nationalist,” as Luhnow says. Things could get interesting — even more so — in a hurry.


At any rate, David Luhnow is a marvelous explainer: informed, balanced, and clear. As I told him at the end of our podcast, we could all use one of him for every region of the world. Again, go here.