El programa económico del gobierno de la Cuarta Transformación: avances y desafíos

The economic program of the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during 2018-2024, as a part of the proposal to carry out the Fourth Transformation of the public life of the nation through a government model called “Mexican humanism” of which the “moral economy” and the fight against corruption are part, has sparked a heated debate between specialists and non-specialists regarding the viability of the economic strategy of the current administration. This article analyzes the factors that have allowed progress towards the goals set out in the government plan in economic matters, whose essential initiative consists of building a “post-neoliberal” alternative, through a “viable model of economic development”, based on 12 guiding principles among which stand out: trustworthiness and honesty; economics for well-being; the market does not replace the State; and, for the good of all, first the poor. As demonstrated in this article, it is unequivocal that there are important advances, despite the impact of the dual crisis (health and economic) caused in 2020 by the covid-19 pandemic, which are supported based on the results that reflect the positive behavior of fundamental economic variables that are conventionally accepted, from any perspective of economic theory, to explain the performance of a market economy. However, there are also critical factors that translate into challenges and represent an obstacle to advancing comprehensively towards the objectives proposed by the government of the Fourth Transformation.