President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has crowned his last Grito de Independencia with a call to his political movement. “Long live the Fourth Transformation!” he said as a final speech from the balcony of the National Palace. The president has filled the celebration of his last Grito de Independencia with symbols. López Obrador has come out visibly moved to comply with the protocol of the ceremony and has shouted along with the classic speeches a dozen new phrases. López Obrador’s Grito called the heroes of Independence, but also celebrated values such as freedom, equality, justice, sovereignty and democracy. The president has closed his farewell with a call dedicated to his political movement and finally he has celebrated “the migrants, the cultural greatness of Mexico and the Mexican workers who are the best in the world.”
Mexico City’s Zócalo was filled with Mexicans who braved the rain and waited to the cry of “It’s an honor to be with López Obrador!” for the president to come out and shout his slogans. A group of drones drew the phrase “Gracias México” over the square, which is also the name of López Obrador’s latest book and on this night has become the president’s gesture of gratitude. The ceremony was followed by a fireworks display accompanied by music from various regions of the country, including Let’s go to Tabascoas a nod to the president’s home state. López Obrador observed the crowd for a few minutes before his silhouette disappeared from the balcony.
The Grito de Independencia is one of the most significant celebrations for Mexicans, who are the owners of a national pride that goes beyond almost any political ideology. López Obrador, an avid reader of Mexican history, has known how to take advantage of national feelings to redefine symbols and leave his mark on some of them. The ceremony of September 15 has been one of them. Through the harangues of the last six years, the president has launched ‘vivas’ for migrants, indigenous communities and pre-Hispanic cultures. He has also shown his contempt for corruption, classism and racism: since 2022 he added to the “vivan” the “mueran”.
The night of September 15th in the Zócalo is also an occasion that serves to empirically measure the popularity of a president. The number of Mexicans willing to withstand the cold, the rain and the riots, to see the Mexican president for 15 minutes on the balcony of the National Palace waving the flag, is proportional to the sympathy for him. In the times of the PRI, the official party made the maximum effort to fill the square, a tradition that quietly vanished during the administrations of Fox, Calderón and Peña Nieto. López Obrador is preceded by a historic popularity, which is never below 60% of the acceptance among Mexicans, and which no president has achieved in the modern history of Mexico. With him, of course, the Zócalo has registered a full house on six occasions.
The dominant role that has been given to the Armed Forces in recent years is also reflected in the Independence ceremony. Although the protocol is essentially the same, the cadets of the Military College are the co-stars of the Grito and the austere and sparse military traditions are strictly adhered to. Gone are the days when the corridors of the National Palace were filled with politicians of all colours and celebrities in designer dresses. The president is surrounded by his family, his Cabinet and the most loyal to his Government: a place on one of the balconies of the National Palace to watch the fireworks is now only guaranteed with a blood relationship or unquestionable political relevance.
López Obrador has decided to mark the history of Mexico with his name. This very day, he signed the promulgation of the reform to the Judicial Branch, controversial for subjecting thousands of judges and magistrates to popular vote, just four hours before going out to the balcony of the National Palace to receive his last bath of masses. The powerful image of López Obrador sitting in the famous Eagle Chair, giving a reversal to one of the three branches that support the Mexican Government system, has also counted on the presence of the first elected president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum.
“We are going to have the first female president of Mexico in 200 years, of independent Mexico. If we add the 300 years of colonial domination, we are talking about the fact that for at least 500 years, our country has not been governed by a woman. And I am very pleased that this woman is Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. An exceptional woman, intelligent, prepared, with experience in government, honest, sensitive, with a social dimension, with a good heart,” she mentioned in a brief speech that she posted on her social networks. And so she rounded off the day with more symbols.
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