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Raise your hand whenever he looks your way.

That was the advice my longtime friend and fellow journalist Reyna Ram铆rez gave me.

Reyna, a Sonoran stationed temporarily in Mexico City, counseled: Sit more on the right side of the room and in the front rows.

The goal was to get Mexican President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador to call on me to ask a question during one of his daily press conferences.

Yes, you heard that right: daily press conferences. They鈥檙e called 鈥渕a帽aneras,鈥� and L贸pez Obrador holds them Monday through Friday, even when traveling.

It is potentially a model of accessibility. Although on some days he begins the sessions with long presentations on a specific theme, he still answers questions every workday.

Can you imagine a U.S. president answering questions for an hour or two every morning? Can you imagine an 蜜柚直播 governor doing it?

But of course, L贸pez Obrador is a smart politician. He wouldn鈥檛 hold them if they didn鈥檛 benefit him. And he makes sure they do.

I have been in Mexico for about a week doing reporting for a project funded by a Society of Professional Journalists Foundation fellowship I received last year. The project鈥檚 focus is the way government actors in the U.S. and some other countries try to mold public opinion about immigration and the border.

The obvious focus of this research, of course, is President Trump鈥檚 administration. Since the beginning of his campaign Trump has made the border and immigration his top priorities, convincing much of the U.S. population of the dangers inherent in them.

Less obvious are the foreign politicians we don鈥檛 know so well in the United States 鈥� like L贸pez Obrador and Central American leaders who have become key participants in U.S. immigration policy.

L贸pez Obrador, who is known (somewhat inaccurately) as a left-wing populist, came into power pledging a humanitarian approach to foreign migrants in Mexico and an effort to reduce poverty in the region. The idea was to help lift people up and give them less reason to migrate.

But then the surge of asylum-seeking migrants to the United States accelerated in early 2019, and Trump started turning the screws on Mexico. He threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border if Mexico didn鈥檛 stop Central Americans from passing through the country. Then he threatened to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico.

Abruptly, L贸pez Obrador reversed his immigration policy. Mexican authorities, such as the newly formed National Guard, started preventing migrants from entering the country by force. And the country鈥檚 immigration agency stopped many of those who did enter from leaving southern states like Chiapas.

Then, after the crackdown, something interesting and little-discussed happened. Mexicans became the dominant nationality seeking asylum at the border, primarily from the southern state of Guerrero.

Violence and extortion by criminal groups has displaced thousands of people in Guerrero, which I visited last week. Some flee to other places in Mexico, and others go to the border to request asylum.

This is what I wanted to ask L贸pez Obrador about.

Getting permission to attend the ma帽anera is simple 鈥� you contact the press liaison who handles visitors, as opposed to the credentialed regular attendees, tell her the days you want to go, and bring your press credentials.

The ma帽aneras start at 7 a.m., but some reporters file in as early as 6. It鈥檚 an unusually quiet walk through the cobblestone streets adjacent to the Zocalo, Mexico City鈥檚 famous central square.

On Thursday morning, I filed in about 6:30 and sat in the fourth row along the aisle, leaning in to the aisle to stick up my hand every time the president glanced my way.

It didn鈥檛 work.

The president answered questions from about a dozen of the 80 or so journalists present, always allowing for a follow-up.

It鈥檚 a fantastic opportunity that too many of them waste. Some of the regulars are known for flattering the president and even draw quiet hisses from other reporters when called on. Others are known for delivering stemwinders of their own before asking the president to comment.

Almost all of the Mexican reporters have been taken in by a massive distraction that the president has been dragging out for months.

One of L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 signature issues has been cutting government waste, especially on luxury items. To that end, he has been trying to sell a luxurious presidential jet, a Boeing 787, bought in the last administration.

When the jet didn鈥檛 sell during L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 first year in office, he decided to 鈥渞affle鈥� the plane off, sort of. It鈥檚 a topic that gives the president great publicity by continually reinforcing his difference from the many previous administrations that engorged themselves at the public trough. Unlike free-spending leftist presidents, he speaks proudly of his austerity.

After many questions about the plane, the Thursday press conference ended at 9 a.m.

My last opportunity would be Friday morning. So, Thursday afternoon I decided it was time to take desperate measures.

Coincidentally, L贸pez Obrador and I share a taste 鈥� sometimes he wears guayaberas and other traditional loose shirts. I like guayaberas, too, and had bought two in Guerrero before leaving on Wednesday.

I decided to launch Operation Guayabera. Even though I might look like a gringo poseur and also be chilly in the drafty hall, I decided to wear a bright guayabera, a green one, and get there early.

I was the first visitor in line Friday morning and was able to snag a seat in the second row near the middle, with a direct line of sight to the president.

Unfortunately, there were five chairs on the stage, which meant a presentation. And the presentation was about the reporters鈥� favorite topic 鈥� the plane. Not only that, the president announced details of a new lottery game featuring the plane.

Now, the president鈥檚 rule is, you鈥檙e only supposed to ask about the theme of the day on the day there are presentations, but Reyna told me to ignore the rule. Just wave my hand and ask whatever I want.

When the presentations were done, L贸pez Obrador stepped to the podium, asked for questions. He pointed immediately at me.

The guayabera worked.

My question boiled down to: Why has your government taken such dramatic measures to stop migration on the southern border, but not taken equally dramatic measures to slow the exodus of Mexicans from Guerrero and other states?

I could tell you more, about how much I fumbled with my words, and how he answered, but you鈥檒l learn more soon enough in my columns. Anyway, all the press conferences are available on the .

Suffice it to say that he chastised me lightly for asking about something other than the plane, a subject I was happy to veer away from. But then we went back and forth for around 14 minutes, talking about migration.

The rest of the time was eaten up by eager questioning about the president鈥檚 favorite topics: the presidential plane and the new lottery game.