(Special envoy to Mexico City) – Power in Mexico already has the face of a woman: Claudia Sheinbaum was elected President after defeating the candidates Xóchitl Gálvez Ruíz and Álvarez Máynez. Be the first woman in history from Mexico that occupies the National Palace, and the next October 1st will happen to Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). Although it is not yet official, Morena’s candidate was consecrated after her immediate rival granted her victory. Minutes before, she had been proclaimed virtual president by the Quick Count official.
At 00:00 (Mexico time), the National Electoral Institute (INE) reported on national television that Sheinbaum had obtained more than 57% of the votes, a percentage of votes that mark a trend in the elections that Xóchitl Gálvez Ruíz and Álvarez Máynez will no longer be able to discount.
The president-elect of Mexico was in her campaign bunker when the official announcement confirmed that her political and personal dream had been fulfilled. Sheinbaum thus consolidates a left-wing power project in Mexico that AMLO began with his own presidency in 2018.
The winning alliance “Let’s continue making history” -which includes Brunette, Labor Party and Green party Ecologist from Mexico– Not only did he win the presidential race: he also reinforced his majorities in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, a variable of institutional power that will facilitate Claudia Sheinbaum’s state agenda.
The elected president received a mandate from Mexican society by triumphing in the elections.
The votes obtained imply a popular instruction to Sheinbaum that is linked to the fight against violence starring drug cartels, the improvement of the economy that suffers fiscal deficit and low foreign direct investment; the need to resolve the crisis caused by undocumented migration and the political decision of renew bilateral ties with the United States.
Criminal violence marked a trend in crescendo throughout the electoral campaign. And the sum of troops from the National Guard, Army and Navy – more than 259,000 troops – it didn’t work to stop a wave of attacks and attacks that crossed all of Mexico.
That is to say: society became militarizedand the prevention results were scarce.
When the presidential candidates were closing their campaigns, a hitman murdered Alfredo Cabreraopposition candidate Mayor’s Office of Coyuca de Benítez in Guerreroand hours later it fell Jorge Huertawho was looking for position of councilor in Izúcar de Matamoros in Puebla. He was also killed Israel Delgado Vega, candidate for trustee of Cuitzeo (Michoacán) before the elections begin.
These were not isolated events, They are a trend that worries to the president-elect. In the last year they were 38 candidates murderedand are computed at least 320 violent incidents against politicians, according to the monitoring carried out by the consulting firm Electoral Laboratory.
This is a criminal phenomenon that included all political forces. The National Action Party (PAN) suffered the highest number of threats (27), while Morena faced the highest number of murdered (11) and kidnapped (16). Statistics show three states with the highest number of homicides: Guerrero (9), Chiapas (5) and Michoacán (6).
Sheinbaum’s priority is to confront organized crime, assuming that It is a requirement of the company expressed in the amount of votes you received in the hot areas of Mexico.
It won’t be an easy task. Criminal gangs have funds to corrupt, they manage strong logistics with territorial control and they do not respect any authority of the national government. Besides There is Fentanyl trafficking to the United Stateswhich makes the solution to a spiral of violence that does not stop more complex.
The humanitarian crisis caused by undocumented migration impacts the United States electoral campaign and affects the domestic politics of Mexico. Joe Biden defines an executive order to control migratory flows, and does not rule out closing the southern border a few weeks before the presidential elections, which will take place on November 5.
Sheinbaum does not share the immigration tactic of the Democratic leader. The president-elect wants an identification mechanism for each migrant and a social assistance plan that involve countries that expel their citizens for political, economic and social reasons.
“That will be and will continue to be our position, which is cooperation for development. “That there is support for Mexico, but mainly for Central America and other countries where there is migration to reach the United States,” said Sheinbaum in the middle of the electoral campaign.
From this perspective, AMLO’s successor proposes a regional cooperation mechanism and rejects border closure as a measure in extremis. Sheinbaum assumes that Biden’s electoral measure leaves the humanitarian crisis in its territoryand does not provide any solution that prevents the suffering of thousands of Latin Americans who march from the deep south to the shore of the Rio Grande.
Mexico is the main trading partner of the United Statesand Sheinbaum defined a new strategy diplomatic with Washington. She understands that it is necessary conclude with bilateral relations closed book and that it is essential to renew links with a new roadmap that imply greater benefits for the local economy.
The key to this future strategy with the United States is leveraged Nearshoringwhich is the relocation of companies as a softpower method to avoid breaks in the supply chainand in the case of Mexico, the possibility of accessing foreign direct investment that tries to escape restrictive legislation that responds to geopolitical logics.
In this sense, Sheinbaum intends to negotiate with the White House on its Nearshoring plan, where the nationality of the investment would not matterif development models are proposed in favor of local populations.
That is to say: The president-elect would not put legal barriers to Chinadespite the global bid it is leading against the United States.
“What we have to look for is that these industries that are coming to Mexico They have to be in development polesas is the case of the southeast polesin other places in the country in accordance with the territorial vocation of each of the states of the Republic,” Sheinbaum announced in the campaign.
The elected president has a government agenda and roadmap to try to fulfill the popular mandate that he received from the polls. Is a demand of Mexican society that suffers the consequences of violence and the economic situation, after a national administration led by AMLO and that Sheinbaum shared from ideology and party action.
There is a question that can haunt like a shadow to the future president, and that only she can exorcise in an instant.
The figure omnipresent of López Obrador expands throughout Mexico, and it will depend on Sheinbaum if he sits him at his side to make state decisions, or tells him with the subtlety of emerging power that his political cycle has ended.
