Claudia Sheinbaum Kicks off Presidential Campaign in Mexico City

With chants of “president, president”, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, presidential candidate for the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), Labor Party (PT), and Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM) coalition, launched her electoral campaign on March 1. Sheinbaum is the former head of government of Mexico City and the favorite in all the voter intention surveys. At the campaign launch which saw tens of thousands pour into the Zócalo, Sheinbaum presented the 100 points of her Nation Project, which will be the roadmap of her administration if she becomes the first woman to occupy the chair of the National Palace. She was also accompanied by Clara Brugada, the former mayor of Iztapalapa who is now running for Sheinbaum’s former post.

At the launch, the presidential hopeful Sheinbaum pointed out that in these elections there are only two paths: “One where the transformation continues and the other, the one that wants corruption and neoliberalism to return.” She highlighted that more than five years after starting the process of the Fourth Transformation, great progress has been made: the minimum wage was doubled (and tripled in the border region with the United States), roads, refineries, airports, trains, and power plants were built. solar, new school textbooks were launched, and the country has not gone into debt.

She highlighted that the neoliberal model was left behind to give way to the emergence of Mexican Humanism, with which during the more than five years of the presidency under Andrés Manuel López Obrador, “many myths” were demolished. “It was said that the state should subordinate itself to the market and that if the minimum wage increased there would be inflation and there would be no investment,” the presidential candidate recalled.

¡Con el pueblo, por el pueblo, vamos pueblo! Esta es la hora de seguir conquistando la esperanza y el porvenir. ¡Que viva la Cuarta Transformación! pic.twitter.com/WHeNFfzqIs

— Dra. Claudia Sheinbaum (@Claudiashein) March 2, 2024

“Everything turned out to be false. In reality, what they wanted was for the budget, public money, to be at the service of a few. With humanism it was shown that when there is honesty, it is enough to give resources to the people of Mexico,” said Sheinbaum.

Likewise, she highlighted that in Mexico today there is economic growth, an increase in jobs, there is a strong weight, there has been a decrease in poverty and inequality. However, Sheinbaum stated that “derived from more than three decades of neoliberalism, there is still much to be done.”

Nation Project: 100 points

During the campaign kick-off event Claudia Sheinbaum listed the 100 points on which she will guide her management if she is the winner of the next elections. “I am going to ask you for a little patience because I am going to read the commitments, there are 100, our principles, what we are going to continue, and what we are going to advance. “Can you all put up with me for a little while?” said Claudia Sheinbaum to an enthusiastic response from the attendees.

She highlighted the creation of a new social program which distributes a partial pension to more than one million women aged 60 to 64.

As far as infrastructure is concerned, Sheinbaum committed to continue the development of passenger trains with eight routes, connecting key parts of the country.

She promised to continue promoting the state airline Mexicana de Aviación and the construction of airports. “We are not going to leave Mexicana de Aviación. We are already reviewing when the next planes are going to arrive because we are going to acquire planes for Mexicana and new routes. Mexicana, the airline of the people of Mexico,” said the former head of Government.

Also, she highlighted her vision of turning Mexico into “a port power,” emphasizing the need to expand and modernize strategic ports in collaboration with the private sector, such as Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz.

Regarding labor matters, Sheinbaum committed to promoting the relocation of companies in Mexico, also known as “nearshoring”, without having to sacrifice good salaries and labor benefits, through new development poles for well-being in the country.

The former head of Government of Mexico City promised an increase in the minimum wage of around 11% annually in the coming years, in addition to reversing the current pension model by promoting, to do so, the reform sent by President López Obrador to Congress.

It will not be the only one of the president’s package of initiatives that his successor will defend. Sheinbaum stressed that she will promote the democratization of the Judiciary through the popular election of judges, magistrates and ministers. “The Judiciary has the responsibility of building peace and a true rule of law that stops protecting the interests of a minority and truly protects the human rights established in the Constitution, as well as the supreme interest of the people and the nation. For this reason, we support the measure that the judges, magistrates and ministers of the Judicial Branch be elected by the people of Mexico,” said Claudia Sheinbaum.

Likewise, she promised the creation of the “Judicial Disciplinary Court” and a “Judicial Administration Body” to be responsible for sanctioning corrupt judges.

The candidate of the “Let’s Keep Making History” coalition affirmed that she will submit to the revocation of her mandate and that she will send a reform initiative to recover the slogan of no re-election for any popularly elected position.

In relation to the energy sector, Sheinbaum emphasized that the strengthening of Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) would continue, while giving impetus to the energy transition and promotion of new technologies to make Mexico a global example in the face of global climate change.

She warned that the suspension of permits for open mines and practices such as the extraction of oil and gas through hydraulic fracturing of the subsoil, also known as “fracking,” will continue.

She also promised that there will be no “gasolinazos” or increases in electricity or gas rates above inflation.

In terms of security, Claudia Sheinbaum promised coordination between all powers and inviting the prosecution to take part in the security meetings that she promised would continue to be daily. “We are going to promote changes in the law in order to establish articulation and coordination between the National Guard and the prosecutor’s offices in order to drastically reduce impunity. “We already did it in the city.”

In the final part of her speech, Claudia Sheinbaum committed to protecting the legacy of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, because “when there is a revolution of consciences, there is nothing that stops the movement.” “With the people of Mexico we will be making history,” she stated, in addition to pointing out that “I am clear that we are the only option that represents progress with justice and that my obligation is to take Mexico along the path of peace and justice.”

This article first appeared in Spanish at De Raíz.