It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the aftermath of Hurricane Otis - the catastrophic category five cyclone that decimated Acapulco on October 25 - would turn political.
After all, Mexico is only six months away from what will surely be a highly contentious presidential election.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador this week accused opposition parties of overstating the impact of Hurricane Otis and criticizing the federal government’s response to the natural disaster for electoral purposes. Meanwhile, the president’s critics said he was deliberately playing down the seriousness of the hurricane for exactly the same reason.
“I do think we were lucky. Nature and our creator protected us from the fury of the hurricane,” AMLO said, noting that “the building structures held up well. (Mostly) glass, drywall and soffit ceilings were destroyed.”
AMLO compared the carnage in the Pacific coast resort with the damage Hurricane Katrina inflicted on New Orleans and its surrounding area in August 2005, when more than 1,800 people died.
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