Between 2018 and 2024, former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) implemented sweeping welfare reforms that helped 13.4 million people escape poverty—a remarkable 26% drop in national poverty levels. Extreme poverty also fell, with 2 million fewer people living in its grip. At the heart of this impact were universal cash transfers—especially for the elderly, apprentices, and farmers—as well as a groundbreaking tripling of the minimum wage (from 88 to 279 pesos a day), sparking widespread economic uplift.

Yet, not all progress was equal. Access to healthcare worsened significantly—today, over 44 million people lack health services, more than double the 2018 figure. Critics also point to inefficiencies in universal transfers, which sometimes overlooked remote rural communities. Despite shortcomings, analysts call AMLO’s welfare achievements “historic,” seeing them as a profound economic shift in a country long marked by inequality. That highlights that bold policy can truly change lives—and that’s what’s right with the world.