Attorneys who handle commercial deals for clients investing in Mexico have made a killing in recent years, thanks in part to recent deregulation in key Mexican industries such as energy and telecommunications. But attorneys in Miami are concerned that a change in the leadership of Mexico, combined with uncertainties created by an as-yet-unratified trade agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the U.S, and by protectionism rearing its head around the world, could mean the good times are over.

Mexico’s new president,—Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, frequently referred to by his initials—AMLO—was elected in a landslide. He is sometimes described as a leftist populist politician, although he is different from the typical Latin American populist and won the presidency by cobbling together support from leftists, unions, far-right conservatives and religious groups.