Mexican president sparks frenzy posting photo claiming it shows an elf

Mexico’s president sparked a social media frenzy over the weekend after he shared a photo of what he claims is an ‘elf’ sitting in a tree. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Saturday took to Twitter to post a photo of a mysterious-looking animal with glowing eyes, along with a photo of sculptures from a Yucatec-Maya archeological site.

‘I share two photos of our supervision of the Mayan Train works: one, taken by an engineer three days ago, apparently from an Aluxe; another, by Diego Prieto of a splendid pre-Hispanic sculpture in Ek Balam. Everything is mystical,’ he wrote. An ‘Aluxe’ is a mythological woodland spirit in Mayan culture, similar to an elf. The creatures are invisible but are able to become apparent, according to lore. López Obrador, 69, who has more than nine million followers on the social media website, quickly caught the attention of users who began to mercilessly mock him for his post.

The tweet was posted just before 6pm Saturday evening and has been retweeted and liked more than 32,000 times. The nighttime photo of the ‘elf’ shows a tree with a branch forming what looks like a head of hair, and things that look like glowing eyes.

The second photo shows sculptures the president claims were found in Ek Balam, Mexico, made by the Mayans hundreds of years ago. According to Twitter, the photos López Obrador posted have been viewed by users 4.4 million times. Those users have not been shy when it comes to interacting with the Mexican president’s tweets and claims.

Reactions ranged from astonishment to anger over López Obrador so openly posting about a mythical creature, and sharing a story that was quickly debunked. ‘President of Mexico elf posting lolololol,’ laughed one person. ‘Honestly that’s a credible elf, Mexican President. I am on board,’ one user said. ‘It’s a raccoon with a bag on its head,’ another wrote.

‘What a normal president, how healthy everything is, how timely and no false information,’ one person said in a translated tweet. Many called out the president, saying he was lying completely about the story, citing articles that circulated two years ago with the picture of the ‘elf.’ ‘Yes, Andrés, an engineer three days ago took a photo that has been doing the rounds in Nuevo León since February 2021 and in Thailand since December of that year. You are sad, very sad… and the country even more… If you believe it, you are stupid… if you know you are lying, you are malicious…’ another user said.

As for what the mysterious figure is, many have stated they believe the ‘elf’ to actually be a gibbon or langur monkey, which both resemble the tree figure. ‘Yes, Andrés, an engineer three days ago took a photo that has been doing the rounds in Nuevo León since February 2021 and in Thailand since December of that year. You are sad, very sad… and the country even more… If you believe it, you are stupid… if you know you are lying, you are malicious…’ another user said. ‘Pathetic… Mexican president claiming a picture of an Indonesian gibbon or langur taken 2 years ago is actually a gnome/wizard/magic creature from this week in Yucatan. No wonder why he’s got zero cred,’ one person wrote.

López Obrador has long held fast to his love for indigenous cultures and beliefs. Engineers and workers are in the Yucatan peninsula, constructing a tourist train that is the president’s passion project. The ancient Mayan civilization reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D. on the Yucatan Peninsula and in adjacent parts of Central America. Descendants of the Mayans continue to live in the peninsula today. Many also still speak the Mayan language and wear traditional clothing, while also conserving traditional foods, crops, religion and medicine practices.

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