Can Sheinbaum complete López Obrador’s political project?

This image is as spectacular as it gets. Thousands of Crowds gathering at the iconic Zocalo A woman is greeted by a crowd of people shouting, “President, President, President…” This scene would surely be remembered for generations to come in a country where masculinity is prominent. First female president in history.

At midnight, the president of the National Electoral Commission, Guadalupe Tadei, finally spoke. There was no doubt about the trend: Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo had won the election by about 1,000 votes. 58-60 percent of the votealong with Voter turnout About 60 percent.

Although not as charismatic as the current head of state, Scheinbaum She has her own strengths: originally from a science background, she entered politics under the auspices of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (also known as AMLO), serving as Secretary of the Environment during his term as Mexico City’s prime minister from 2000 to 2006.

At that time, she was already a distinguished scientist: a physics graduate with a PhD in Energy Engineering, she worked as a researcher at Mexico’s most prestigious university, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and remains a member of the National System of Researchers and the Mexican Academy of Sciences.

She served on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007. Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2015, Sheinbaum was elected mayor of Mexico City’s Tlalpan district, and in 2018, she became mayor of Mexico City. During her tenure, she founded two public universities, a series of community centers in marginalized neighborhoods, and A cable car system was introduced She served as mayor of the Cable Bus district in the Iztapalapa district. She was especially praised for her response to the worsening security situation and the COVID-19 pandemic. World Mayor Awards In 2021.

Throughout the campaign, Scheinbaum’s message was “Second Floor of the Fourth Transformation” In other words, it is a continuation and deepening of AMLO’s political project. Mexican presidents can only serve one termThe term “Fourth Transformation” was coined by Lopez Obrador to express his ambition that his political project will be as transcendent as Mexico’s three previous historical transformations: independence, reform and revolution.

The Fourth Transformation It refers to building a welfare state through a mixed economy that combines aspects of socialism, Keynesianism, and free markets. In this system, the state implements social policies, owns strategic sectors of the economy, regulates private enterprise, and develops infrastructure, but at the same time encourages free trade and foreign direct investment.

Meanwhile, “Second Floor” refers to the symbolic second floor of Mexico City’s Anillo Periferico (Outer Ring Road), a double-decker highway built during AMLO’s administration and for which Sheinbaum was personally responsible. The transportation facility is a well-known symbol of Lopez Obrador’s commitment to public investment.

This analogy is not unfounded. In Sheinbaum’s own words, the second floor of the Fourth Metamorphosis is a large “Strategic InvestmentsWe are working on all kinds of infrastructure: highways, railways, industrial corridors, ports, airports, etc. In short, we are completing the series of projects started by Lopez Obrador and laying the foundations for economic and social development.

Of course, opponents have a fundamentally different view. For them, the Fourth Transformation is a farce. Totalitarian Project Ultimately, he seeks to destroy democracy. In this narrative, Lopez Obrador is a tyrant seeking to stifle free speech and centralize power. Sheinbaum is seen as a puppet, allowing AMLO to pull the strings behind the scenes.

Whatever the opposition may say, the truth is that the majority of Mexicans support the Fourth Transformation, as the election results clearly show. Lopez Obrador’s approval rating The astounding 66 percent approval rating is the highest of any Mexican president in the 21st century. Top 3 most popular leaders in the worldIn addition, MORENA: Positive image and Strong political identity On behalf of the people. This is not surprising. After all, the Lopez Obrador administration minimum wage Every year, workers are Number of vacation daysReduction poverty 6 percent increase, Peso vs Dollar,country’s Railway Systems And he designed geo-economic megaprojects. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec Maritime CorridorFor people, the change is real.

Is the public’s perception so distorted that it supports a dictatorship? One thing is clear: Claudia Scheinbaum is a woman of the moment. Only time will tell if “The Second Floor” is just a campaign slogan or a serious political project for the benefit of the Mexican people. For now, it stirs high hopes and expectations of millions of people.

Saul Sánchez López is Professor of Political Contexts at the University of Guanajuato Celaya Salvatierra and Professor of Geopolitics at the Iberoamerican University of León.