Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio.

I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Economic models have long assumed that natural systems are bottomless, from fresh water and clean air to plentiful forests and fish, but a sweeping new report makes a compelling case and some chilling predictions about accounting for biodiversity. And conversations with computers have come a long way, at least in terms of getting sensible answers to simple questions.

But the real goal of natural banter, filled with nuance and empathy, remains distant.

We chat through the state of the art.

First up, though, new data reveal a surge of COVID deaths in Mexico. The country has officially confirmed more than 2 million cases and almost 180,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

But mortality rates tell an even more grim tale.

Over the past year, deaths were 52% higher than in previous years, according to the Financial Times.

That puts Mexico's rate of excess deaths much higher than that of countries such as America

and Brazil.

Yet... much higher than that of countries such as America and Brazil. Yet earlier this month, Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador,

widely known as AMLO, said we are living in a stellar moment.

The COVID spike is far from the country's only problem. Poverty, corruption and crime are all on the rise.

But polls indicate that two years into Amlo's term, most Mexicans are willing to give him more time.

Mexico's president is incredibly popular. Sarah Burke is our Mexico bureau chief.

He won in a landslide in 2018,

and he still has approval ratings that most other leaders would be extremely jealous of.

It's 62% as it stands.

And that's all in spite of what looks like

and not very good handling of most things,

most obviously at the moment, the pandemic.

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