The social achievements are due, in particular, to the economic boom that Mexico is going through.
Photo: EFE – Mario Guzmán
The overwhelming victory of Claudia Sheinbaum in the Mexican elections marks a milestone for the northern country, by becoming the first woman to occupy the Presidency, being of Jewish origin, for a Catholic society, and giving continuity to the current left-wing government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), his political mentor. With the largest vote in history, and close to 60% of the votes, Sheinbaum will have the challenge of maintaining the social improvements of the current president while she faces the serious problems of drug trafficking, insecurity and impunity left by her predecessor.
The candidate of the National Regeneration Movement, Morena, was swept away by López Obrador’s wave of popularity and promised to continue his legacy, being questioned in the campaign for the independence she would maintain if elected. Her opponent, Xóchitl Gálvez, who represented a coalition of traditional parties, did not resonate with her campaign speech that promised to respect the achievements of the current administration, but at the same time make the elections a referendum on AMLO’s management. The confusing message did not work, especially because she represented two traditional parties, the PRI and the PAN, which had alternated power without solving the most sensitive problems of Mexicans, starting with poverty.
The current president has achieved positive results that were ratified at the polls. In the six years of his administration, several million citizens were lifted out of poverty, there was a substantial increase in the minimum wage and an improvement in retirement pensions, as well as an increase in student scholarships. However, his populist disposition has not been efficient when it comes to solving problems as complex as drug trafficking and the violence that comes with it. He, too, has not been able to solve the corruption of justice and the high levels of impunity that prevail within society. He is also accused of causing serious damage to the health system and eroding democratic institutions due to his polarizing speech.
The social achievements are due, in particular, to the economic prosperity that the country is going through. Mexico has established itself as the main exporter to the United States; It receives very high income from remittances, with a profound impact in different parts of the country, and has benefited from foreign investment that was above US$36 billion the previous year. Additionally, there has been an increase in the number of companies that move from the neighboring country to Mexican territory, increasing the level of employment.
The writer Jorge Volpi, in The country of Spain, mentioned some of the main challenges that the elected president will face. Among them is ending the level of polarization that López Obrador has established, reducing the power and active participation in civil life conferred on the military and carrying out a profound reform of the judicial system. Volpi warns that in the months that AMLO has left, and with the majority obtained in the legislative chambers, he will be able to approve initiatives that “concentrate power even more, threaten the poorest or expand the catalog of informal preventive detention: a repeated violation of human rights.” She believes that popularity gives her “the necessary room for maneuver to betray the rest of the progressive agenda and build a pyramidal and increasingly authoritarian regime where dissent was banned.”
With this panorama, Claudia Sheinbaum, if she sets her mind to it, has training and results that would allow her to carry out a government focused on social issues, without piercing democracy or promoting populism. For six years she managed Mexico City, she has a doctorate in energy engineering, she has an environmentalist spirit and has been very serious in managing it. Upon assuming the Presidency she will know which path she will take.
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