CBS News
AMLO, Mexico’s departing president, reflects on his legacy and his country’s ties to the U.S.
With less than a year left in office, what Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador does — or doesn’t do — at the border can shape the next political chapter in the United States.
The White House witnessed López Obrador’s power in December. After a record 250,000 migrants overwhelmed the U.S. southern border, President Biden called López Obrador and asked Mexico to help contain the flow of migrants. A month later, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reported the number of migrant crossings dropped by 50%.
With the ear of the White House, López Obrador proposed his fix to address the root causes of migration issues: asking the U.S. to commit $20 billion a year to poor countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, lift sanctions on Venezuela, end the Cuban embargo and legalize millions of law-abiding Mexicans living in the U.S.
60 Minutes
In a candid interview with “60 Minutes,” López Obrador reflected on his legacy, the border crisis and his new policy to fight the cartels.
His message was clear on immigration: the flow of migrants will continue if the U.S. doesn’t address the root causes. López Obrador’s critics, meanwhile, have said that what he is asking for to help secure the border is diplomatic blackmail.
“I am speaking frankly, we have to say things as they are, and I always say what I feel,” López Obrador said in Spanish at the National Palace in Mexico City. “I always say what I think.”
Why López Obrador says a border closure will never happen
López Obrador is known for speaking his mind every weekday at his press conferences.
On the border, López Obrador said that when former President Donald Trump says he is going to shut down the border or build a wall, he’s bluffing.
Despite their ideological differences and tensions at the border, López Obrador built a working relationship and a personal rapport with the former president.
In 2020, Mr. Trump hosted López Obrador at the White House to mark the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Speaking before the agreement was signed in the Rose Garden, Mr. Trump said that “the relationship between the United States and Mexico has never been closer.”
López Obrador doesn’t think Trump will ever fully shut down the border “because he needs Mexico,” the 70-year-old president said.
60 Minutes
“Because we understood each other very well, we signed an economic, a commercial agreement that has been favorable for both peoples, for both nations. He knows it,” López Obrador said. “And President Biden is the same.”
Last year, Mexico became America’s top trading partner. He pointed to cars, noting that prices would spike by as much as $15,000 if the border were closed.
“There are factories in Mexico and there are factories in the United States that are fundamental for all the consumers in the United States and all the consumers in Mexico,” López Obrador said.
Cartels and fentanyl
While Mexico is a big importer and exporter of goods, it’s also a primary source for fentanyl and waypoint for other illegal drugs trafficked into the U.S. according to the U.S. State Department.
López Obrador is quick to point out that fentanyl is also produced in the U.S. and in Canada, and that most of the chemicals for its production come from Asia. Still, U.S. agencies link most of the fentanyl trafficking to cartels in Mexico.
López Obrador has faced criticism for his approach to violence and organized crime. He has invested in college scholarships and job programs as part of an effort to lure young people away from the cartels, a policy he calls, “Hugs, Not Bullets.”
He dissolved the federal police and created a national guard to take over public security.
According to the Mexican government, homicides have dropped almost 20% since López Obrador took office in 2018. There are still around 30,000 homicides a year in Mexico, and some say nowhere near enough of those murders are prosecuted.
“Of course we prosecute them,” López Obrador said. “There is no impunity in Mexico. They all get prosecuted.”
60 Minutes
According to México Evalúa, a Mexican think tank, about 5% of the country’s homicides are prosecuted. And a study last year reported cartels have expanded their reach, employing an estimated 175,000 people to extort businesses and traffic migrants and drugs into the U.S.
But might there be a way to mediate a truce with cartels, as some suggest?
“What you have to do with the criminals is apply the law. But I’m not going to establish contact, communication with a criminal,” he said.
Violence and corruption in elections, government
During his campaign, López Obrador promised to root out corruption and reduce poverty and violent crime. He claims he has “basically” succeeded in completely getting rid of corruption.
But Transparency International reports no improvement in the corruption problems that have plagued Mexico for decades. Last month, a large demonstration in the capital organized by critics of his government accused the president of trying to eliminate the country’s democratic checks and balances.
On June 2, Mexico will have one of its largest elections. In addition to the presidency, 20,000 local positions are up for grabs. But organized crime is not sitting it out.
Cartels have funded some candidates and preyed on others, experts say. Last month, two mayoral hopefuls were killed in the Pacific coast State of Guerrero. In February, two mayoral hopefuls in the state of Michoacán were killed by gunmen within hours of each other.
But López Obrador has made the point that there can be no rich government in a poor country – and leads by example. He cut his salary, sold the presidential jet and got rid of his predecessor’s fleet of bulletproof cars – he prefers to travel in a low-key Volkswagen.
“I can travel throughout the entire country without problem,” he said. “There is no region that I cannot go and visit.”
The president does not view the attacks on government officials and candidates as a threat to democracy. He said he believes candidates will be safe as they run for office.
López Obrador’s hand-picked successor, former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, has a commanding lead in the polls and could become Mexico’s first female president. López Obrador said he intends to retire from politics after he leaves office.
López Obrador’s legacy
Last year, the Mexican economy grew 3% and unemployment hit a record low. The president’s critics say the growth isn’t because of his policies, but rather in spite of them.
López Obrador has directed billions to signature mega projects, including an oil refinery in his home state and a railroad through the Yucatan jungle to promote more tourism.
“It is money very well invested. It is money saved by not permitting corruption,” López Obrador said.
During his term, nearly 10 million Mexicans have been lifted from poverty. López Obrador is known for railing against what he sees as the elite.
The popular leftist has favored spending on social programs, doubling the minimum wage, increasing pensions and scholarships. His approval rating has remained high — above 60% for most of his presidency.
Some of his critics have said he’s popular because he gives people money. López Obrador said there’s some truth to that.
“Our formula is simple. It is not to allow corruption; not to make for an ostentatious government, for luxuries; and everything we save, we allocate to the people,” he said.ffem
CBS News
As sunscreen misinformation spreads online, dermatologists face real-life impact of online trends
With the holiday weekend in full swing, the anti-sunscreen movement’s recent spike is worrying dermatologists.
“It was not like this before,” Dr. Jeanine Downie, a board-certified dermatologist with her own practice in New Jersey told CBS News Confirmed. “I see easily six patients per week that are anti-sunscreen, where it used to be maybe one every other week or one a month. And now it’s just gotten crazy.”
Downie says in the last two weeks she’s diagnosed three squamous cell and two malignant melanomas, both of which can turn cancerous if not caught early. “And that’s me, just one little dermatologist,” she said.
This movement picked up steam in June, with creators on TikTok telling followers in no uncertain terms “stop wearing sunscreen.” At first, the posts received tens of thousands of views and likes. Dermatologists on the platform then began sharing their own reactions, with those videos gaining even more views. And more recently, influencer Nara Smith went viral sharing an at-home sunscreen recipe to her 8 million followers that dermatologists say does little to protect wearers from sun damage.
Dr. Shereene Idriss, a New York dermatologist who has amassed more than a million followers on her social media channels, is trying to leverage that influence to educate users about sunscreen and sun protection.
“It’s becoming more and more difficult, I think, as a consumer, to try to weed through the noise,” Idriss told CBS News Confirmed.
This misinformation reflects the surprising reality of how some young Americans view sun safety. A study by the Orlando Health Cancer Institute in March found that 1 in 7 adults under the age of 35 say daily sunscreen use is more harmful than direct sun exposure. “I tell my patients, if you want your face to look like a leather bag later, then that’s up to you,” Downie said. About 6.1 million adults are treated each year for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas according to the CDC. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the country.
“They only want the natural things,” said Downie. “But I tell them all the time, sitting in traffic here in the tri-state area, the level of pollutants in the air on a daily, weekly and monthly basis is significantly more toxic than any chemical they’re going to rub into their skin with sunblock.”
While there’s no evidence that sunscreens are unsafe, the FDA is currently investigating potential concerns. It’s called for more data on 12 ingredients often found in U.S. sunscreen. After conducting its own study into how certain ingredients are absorbed into the bloodstream, the FDA has called for more research into potential health effects on the body.
However, beachgoers on the Jersey Shore this week told CBS News that sun safety is top of mind this summer. CBS News Confirmed looked at Google Search trends and saw terms like “sunscreen” and “what does skin cancer look like” are at an all-time high since tracking began in 2004.
“You know what gets them to start wearing sunblock?” said Downie. “Young kids and young adults, Gen Z, Gen X, they hate pores. And once they hear that they’re going to have big pores that look like potholes, they put that sunblock on.”
The dermatologists CBS Newsspoke with say there is no such thing as a healthy tan. To best protect yourself this summer, they say to use sunscreen and reapply often; wear UPF clothing or UV visors; and avoid being outside during peak UV index between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
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Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran’s runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic.
Pezeshkian promised no radical changes to Iran’s Shiite theocracy in his campaign and long has held Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the final arbiter of all matters of state in the country. But even Pezeshkian’s modest aims will be challenged by an Iranian government still largely held by hard-liners, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and Western fears over Tehran enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels.
A vote count offered by authorities put Pezeshkian as the winner with 16.3 million votes to Jalili’s 13.5 million in Friday’s election.
Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images
Supporters of Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and longtime lawmaker, entered the streets of Tehran and other cities before dawn to celebrate as his lead grew over Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator.
But Pezeshkian’s win still sees Iran at a delicate moment, with tensions high in the Mideast over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, Iran’s advancing nuclear program, and a looming U.S. election that could put any chance of a detente between Tehran and Washington at risk.
The first round of voting June 28 saw the lowest turnout in the history of the Islamic Republic since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iranian officials have long pointed to turnout as a sign of support for the country’s Shiite theocracy, which has been under strain after years of sanctions crushing Iran’s economy, mass demonstrations and intense crackdowns on all dissent.
Government officials up to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei predicted a higher participation rate as voting got underway, with state television airing images of modest lines at some polling centers across the country.
However, online videos purported to show some polls empty while a survey of several dozen sites in the capital, Tehran, saw light traffic amid a heavy security presence on the streets.
The election came amid heightened regional tensions. In April, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel over the war in Gaza, while militia groups that Tehran arms in the region — such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels — are engaged in the fighting and have escalated their attacks.
Iran is also enriching uranium at near weapons-grade levels and maintains a stockpile large enough to build several nuclear weapons, should it choose to do so. And while Khamenei remains the final decision-maker on matters of state, whichever man ends up winning the presidency could bend the country’s foreign policy toward either confrontation or collaboration with the West.
The campaign also repeatedly touched on what would happen if former President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew America from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, won the November election. Iran has held indirect talks with President Joe Biden’s administration, though there’s been no clear movement back toward constraining Tehran’s nuclear program for the lifting of economic sanctions.
More than 61 million Iranians over the age of 18 were eligible to vote, with about 18 million of them between 18 and 30. Voting was to end at 6 p.m. but was extended until midnight to boost participation.
The late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a May helicopter crash, was seen as a protégé of Khamenei and a potential successor as supreme leader.
Still, many knew him for his involvement in the mass executions that Iran conducted in 1988, and for his role in the bloody crackdowns on dissent that followed protests over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained by police over allegedly improperly wearing the mandatory headscarf, or hijab.