Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 30, 2018

Four candidates are vying for the presidency on Sunday [Handout/National Electoral Institute/Reuters]

Tom Phillips, The Guardian: 'We're in the abyss': how despair in Mexico set 'Amlo' on verge of presidency

Violence, corruption and poverty explain why leftwing populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador is the frontrunner in election.

It’s a searing afternoon in Ecatepec, one of Mexico’s most violent and deprived cities, and thousands of followers have gathered under a vast white tarpaulin to hear their pathfinder rage against the machine.

For the next hour Andrés Manuel López Obrador – or Amlo to his fans – will deliver a unyielding assault on the scoundrels, mafiosos and influence peddlers he claims have plundered Latin America’s second largest economy and plunged it into a cauldron of thievery, bloodshed and want.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 30, 2018

Mexico elections: What to expect -- John Holman, Al Jazeera

Mexico’s Answer to Donald Trump -- Jorge Guajardo, The Atlantic

Will the working class be the kingmakers in Mexico's elections? -- Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera

Mexico's Election, Between Fear And Disgust -- Luis Rubio, World Crunch

Factbox: A look at Mexico's presidential contenders ahead of key election -- Reuters

Turkey’s controversial S-400 missile transfer is ‘done deal’ -- Emanuele Scimia, Asia Times

US needs to draw a line in the sand with Iran over Yemen -- Stephen Bryen and Shoshana Bryen, Asia Times

'Everyone is feeling more despair': A look back at Hong Kong's handover to China 21 years later -- Xiaoning Mo and Christina Zhou, ABC News Online

Imran Khan starts race to lead Pakistan but can he please the ‘umpires’? -- Memphis Barker, The Guardian

Controversial Islamist laws being used to sideline Pakistani politicians -- Kunwar Khaldune Shahid, Asia Times

North Korean deception, or too-rigid doctrine? Too early to know -- Daniel Hoffman, The Hill

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz: The EU's new power broker? -- Doris Pundy, DW

The Trump-Putin Summit: What the Europeans Fear -- Yasmeen Serhan, The Atlantic

Why Time Might Be NAFTA’s Best Friend -- Kimberly Ann Elliott, WPR