The first president of Mexico. The most voted policy in the history of the country. The woman who carries the hope of almost 36 million voters on her back and who must govern for more than 130 million Mexican men and women. After six years of rule by Andrés Manuel López Obrador and 64 other men who preceded her, Claudia Sheinbaum’s time has come. The president took protest at the Legislative Palace of San Lázaro and held her first massive event before hundreds of thousands of supporters who filled the Zócalo of Mexico City this Tuesday, the most emblematic square in the country, to listen to the 100 points that will guide destinies of the next Government and witness the ceremonial presentation of a baton of command, the symbol of a new era. “I am committed to continuing to make history,” said Sheinbaum, who wrote the first page of her Administration in heels and an ivory dress.
“I commit to you that I will give my knowledge, my soul, my life and the best of myself for the well-being of the people of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said in a message that marked the beginning of a new political course. There was a lot of López Obrador in his speech. The president spoke at length about the legacy of her predecessor and political mentor, but also offered the first sketches of what will be his style, their priorities and his seal as new president. “Today begins the second floor of the Fourth Transformation, that means maintaining our principles and our causes,” he stated. The 100 points of his government plan take up the lines that López Obrador drew – such as austerity, the fight against corruption or the expansion of social programs – but they also reflect his own imprint: the promotion of women, the is committed to education and science, environmental challenges and the fight against machismo and racism. Beyond the slogan of “continuity with change”, Sheinbaum provided content to his new Government for the first time.
The president announced that this week she will send a first set of reforms to cement her country project. He spoke much more than his predecessor and all his predecessors on the gender issue. Sheinbaum announced, for example, the creation of the Women’s Secretariat, the fight against the wage gap and substantial progress against sexist violence, such as the national approval of the criminal offense of feminicide and the promotion of prosecutors’ offices specialized in the murders of women for the fact of being women. Access to reproductive health will be prioritized, a “book of rights” will be distributed to Mexican women and there will be targeted programs, such as an expansion of the pension system for adults aged 60 to 64, which will be launched next year.
The social programs and the improvement of working conditions were the points most applauded by the public. Sheinbaum pledged to maintain the minimum wage increase; He said he will not increase the price of gas, gasoline or electricity above inflation; He will promote a 40-hour work week, give new scholarships to basic education students and set a goal of building one million new homes during his Administration. The president-elect placed special emphasis on health. He said that he will create wellness pharmacies to improve the supply of medicines; that will promote a program for early childhood and the first 1,000 days of life; that will consolidate the IMSS-Wellbeing to “create the best system”, and will provide house-to-house care to older adults.
He also stressed the importance of science, an area abandoned during the last Government. Sheinbaum announced the construction of electric cars produced in Mexico, the launch of a space satellite, the digitalization of government procedures and the promotion of the national lithium industry, among other projects. “We will make Mexico a scientific and innovation power,” he assured. One of the main unknowns is whether public finances will be sufficient to sustain the “second floor of the Fourth Transformation.” Sheinbaum said that there will be fiscal discipline, that it will deepen economic integration with the United States and that it will provide conditions for foreign investors. “The neoliberal model, which did so much damage to Mexico, will not return,” he said.
This weekend, Sheinbaum will kick off the construction of a train that will connect Mexico City with Pachuca, part of an ambitious railway plan that seeks to build 3,000 kilometers of tracks, double that of López Obrador and that includes an expansion towards Guatemala and the United States. Next week, he noted, he will present his Security strategy, which will maintain attention to the causes and commitment to the National Guard, but will give more weight to strengthening intelligence and investigation work. The president also anticipated that she will push for a reform of the electoral system and defended, as hours before in Congress, the recently approved and controversial judicial reform. “The Executive is already elected democratically, the Legislative is already elected democratically, now it is the turn of the Judiciary,” said the 62-year-old politician, amid shouts of “Yes we could, yes we could!”
Morena, the most important political movement in Mexico, has a new leader. Sheinbaum will also be the most powerful head of state in almost 30 years of the democratic era, with qualified majorities in Congress, allies in 24 governorships, a weakened opposition and a reform that will allow the ruling bloc to reconfigure the Judiciary. “I am not going to fail you,” he said before a sea of followers, in just over an hour of speech. This concentration of power triggers the fears of his critics and multiplies the illusions of his coreligionists. It is also the reflection of a moment unprecedented in decades.
The expectations generated by Sheinbaum’s arrival to the presidency are only comparable to those caused by López Obrador, a reference point to which she has been subjected since the race for succession began and an omnipresent figure until the last day of the transition. . That is the baggage with which she arrived at the inauguration and the ceremony in the Zócalo: the place where it all began, the epicenter of the López Obrador imaginary and the square that the president will now have to make her own. The largest esplanade in the country began to fill six hours before he gave his speech. There was nostalgia for the farewell of Andrés Manuel, the most popular president in the country’s recent history, but also a lot of hope in Claudia, the successor.
Information in development.
#Claudia #Sheinbaums #steps #build #Mexico