MEXICO CITY—While most of the world’s largest economies embarked this year on spending sprees to cushion the economic hit from Covid, Mexico’s leftist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has doubled down on budget discipline and austerity despite a rise in poverty.
When he took office two years ago, many economists feared that Mr. López Obrador would behave like other leftist leaders in Latin America, running up large deficits to fund welfare programs. Instead, he now faces criticism for not spending enough during the pandemic.
