Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s mañaneras have boosted his presidency

Mr López Obrador says the purpose of the broadcast is transparency. But most of the time he uses it to laud supposed achievements, pillory critics and, most often, to ramble—the longest mañanera to date ran for three hours, thirty-five minutes and five seconds. His enemies (“neoliberals”, “puppets”, “conservatives”) include journalists, the electoral body and female protesters. Mr López Obrador has used the show to reveal the apparent salary of a prominent anti-corruption campaigner and the phone number of a journalist. He has broken electoral laws, too.