Claudia Sheinbaum is President of Mexico
The second stage of the fourth transformation begins
On October 1, 2024, Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in as President of the Mexican United States, becoming the first woman president in the history of the country. But more important than her sex in and of itself is the fact that she pertains to a generation of Mexican women of the Left who have arrived to positions of influence in various institutions of Mexican society. I refer here not to the toxic woke Left of the USA, but to a contemporary manifestation of the Latin American Left, which has arrived to be a great force in the region in the twenty-first century. It is a Left that sees the active role of the state in guiding cooperation with big corporations and private companies in expanding the economic productivity of the nation, using the benefits to defend and promote the interests and the fundamental needs of the people. It is a Left that understands the need for mutually beneficial trade among nations, carried out with respect for the sovereignty of each and every nation, as the only possible road to world peace and prosperity.
Claudia Sheinbaum was born on June 24, 1962, in a Jewish family in Mexico City. Her paternal grandparents had emigrated from Lithuania to Mexico City in the 1920s; and her maternal grandparents had migrated to Mexico City from Bulgaria in the early 1940s to escape the Holocaust. Both of her parents are scientists who have supported left-wing causes, and at the same time, Claudia celebrated the major Jewish holidays at her grandparents' homes, thus receiving the benefits of two major dimensions of the Jewish-American experience. Claudia was raised in an upper middle-class neighborhood, and she studied ballet as an adolescent. She studied physics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and subsequently earned a Ph.D. in energy engineering, completing the work for her thesis at the Berkeley National Laboratory in California. She joined the faculty of the Institute of Engineering of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1995. She was appointed Secretary of the Environment of Mexico City in 2000, entering the cabinet of the government of Mexico City, headed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), whom she succeeds as President of Mexico. She served as mayor of Tlalpan, the largest borough of Mexico City, from 2015 to 2017 and Head of Government of Mexico City from 2018 to 2023, providing her with an extensive experience for the office to which she is now elected.
Claudia convokes what she calls the second stage of the fourth transformation of Mexico, continuing with the process of change initiated by AMLO. The first transformation was the War of Independence from Spanish colonialism, from 1810 to 1821. The second was the liberal reform of 1855 to 1861, led by President Benito Juárez and an emerging urban commercial bourgeoisie, which sought to stimulate industrial development through the creation of a class of agricultural smallholders and the growth of the domestic market. The third was the Mexican Revolution of 1910 to 1920, which was a frustrated peasant revolution that ultimately led to the rise of petit bourgeois military officers who constituted themselves as a new elite class. The fourth was declared by AMLO, which seeks to strengthen national industry and the internal market and to reduce inequality, poverty, and violence. Claudia seeks to bring the fourth transformation to a second stage, advancing further the project of AMLO
Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum arrived late to the Palace of San Lazaro to take the presidential oath of office, as a consequence of the multitudes who were in the streets to greet her on the road from her house. The presidential band was presented to her with the assistance of a woman who is an institution in Mexican politics, Ifigenia Martínez, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, who at the age of ninety-four and with her health evidently affected by time, forced herself to be present for the historic occasion. Claudia’s inaugural address of 44 minutes was read with serenity and firmness, which reflected “the best of the powerful literature of her country, imaginative and feverish, humanist and generous,” in the words of the Cuban TV news analyst Arleen Rodríguez Derivet. Backed with a constant chorus of voices declaring “¡Presidenta, Presidenta, Presidenta!”, her speech was a review of the historic struggles of the nation, “mentioning by name all those who nurtured libertarian dreams and those who frustrated them as well.” She paid special attention to recognizing the merits of AMLO, who in response to the nation’s history of impoverishment and inequality accentuated by decades of neoliberalism, arrived with the fourth transformation.
Representatives of 105 countries were present at the inauguration, which Claudia declared “is a reflection of the commitment of Mexico to the international community and of the friendship that unites the peoples of the world.” Seventeen heads of state were present, including those of Belice, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, and Saint Lucia. Sheinbaum acknowledge the presence of each of the heads of state as will as Dr. Jill Biden, representing U.S. President Joe Biden; and Tie Ning, Vice-President of the Permanent Committee of the People’s National Assembly of the People’s Republic of China.
The newly inaugurated president expressed thanks and appreciation to Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whom she described as the most important political leader of modern Mexican history, comparable to Lázaro Cárdenas, and the best president of Mexico, for his initiation of the peaceful revolution of the Fourth Transformation.
Claudia reviewed the important figures in the history of Mexico, who struggled for independence and for social justice. Her review included, among others, Hidalgo, Moreles, Juárez, Flores Magón, Zapata, Villa, Carranza, Lázaro Cárdenas, the suffragettes, and the students of 1968.
On the basis of this historic struggle, Sheinbaum noted, combined with the capacities and characteristics of the people, Mexico has today become the twelfth economy of the world and the sixth tourist destination. Furthermore, during the administration of AMLO, some 9.5 million Mexicans were lifted out of poverty, and inequality was reduced, without raising taxes. Mexico is the least indebted of the thirty-eight states of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which consists primarily of the nations of North America and Europe. Claudia noted that Mexico is among the countries with least unemployment, where strong profits for companies and banks are accompanied by the general wellbeing of the population. Because of its economic dynamism, Mexico is able to increase minimum wages without stimulating inflation.
The new President attributed the nation’s current success to its model of development for good, which replaced the failed neoliberal model. With respect to neoliberalism, she declared:
During the neoliberal period, which cost the people of Mexico so much and marked our history for 36 long years, it was said that the State should be diluted or subordinated to market forces, that if the economy was watered from above, it would reach those below. That if the minimum wage increased, there would be inflation and there would be no foreign investment. That if the state participated in the economy, there would be economic crisis and devaluation. That corruption was inherent in government. That freedom only existed in the market. That education, health, housing, and a fair wage were commodities and not rights. It all turned out to be false.
Mexico, with its alternative model of Mexican Humanism based in the principles of the Fourth Transformation, is proving that the neoliberal premises are false, Claudia declared. The principles of the Fourth Generation include the following: prosperity must be shared; there can be no rich government with a poor people; public officials ought to be honorable and honest; the principle maxim of democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people; it is prohibited to prohibit, because liberty is the essence of democracy; the development and wellbeing of the people can only be strengthened with care of the environment; women have the right to substantive equality; Mexico is a sovereign, independent, free, and democratic country that cooperates with other nations for peace and that no longer subordinates itself to others; policies are made with love, not with hate; and classism, racism, machismo, and any form of discrimination are condemned.
100 points of commitment
Following the inauguration, Claudia proceeded to the Plaza of the Constitution, where she proclaimed the initiation of the Second Floor of the Fourth Transformation. She spoke in an interactive style, using the slogans of the Fourth Transformation movement.
Claudia: “For the good of all, ….
Chorus of voices: “first the poor!”
Claudia: “You can’t have a rich government …
Chorus of voices: with poor people!”
Claudia: “With the people, everything; without the people, …
Chorus of voices: nothing!”
She declared that all the programs of the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador will be maintained. And she declared 100 points of commitment to the people, following the example of AMLO six years ago. She read the 100 points one by one. Highlights follow.
Claudia reaffirmed a foreign policy that is in harmony with the fundamental principles proposed by the emerging countries of the Global South, based in the sovereignty of all nations and non-interference in the affairs of nations. “Foreign policy will follow the constitutional principles of the free self-determination of peoples, non-intervention and the peaceful settlement of disputes. It is always up to us to defend the greatness of Mexico and promote relations of respect, never of subordination. We are a free, democratic, sovereign, independent country. We are a great country with a wonderful, honest and hardworking people. Andrés Manuel López Obrador restored dignity to our people, and no one can ever take it away from them.”
Claudia expressed appreciation for Mexicans who have migrated to the United States and who contribute to the economy of the United States as well as to the economy of Mexico. “Our countrymen are heroes and heroines of the homeland; not only do they help our country's economy, but they are also a pillar of the U.S. economy. We will always be grateful and admire them for their work, for the support they give to their families every month; therefore, we will always defend them.”
She spoke of the judicial reform in process, which seeks the independence and autonomy of the judiciary, eliminating corruption.
Claudia declared that Mexico “will not return to the neoliberal model that did so much damage to Mexico. The moral economy and Mexican Humanism will be maintained.” A reasonable equilibrium between the debt and the Gross Domestic Product will continue. Financing for development will continue to be based in a responsible austerity. As a result, prices for gasoline, diesel, electricity, natural gas, and necessary food items will not increase higher than inflation.
Claudia announced a program with respect to health for the elderly. “This October we will also start with a house-to-house health care program for the elderly. To this end, the nation's health-care providers will knock door-to-door in all the homes of the elderly. They will be asked questions to find out their health situation. And in January we are going to hire more than 20 thousand nurses and doctors, so that house-to-house health care for all older adults is a reality.”
Sheinbaum announced that the country is going to improve public school education, so that all who graduate from secondary school will be able to continue their studies. “We want all the youth in school. We are going to expand higher education.” Furthermore, “we will make a republic of readers by promoting reading circles in all educational and work areas, creating more reading rooms, networks of bookstores, popular libraries, book fairs, as well as the production of books at very low cost and free access digital libraries.”
She announced the launching of a Program of Technological Development for Innovation, which will include the production of small autos of 100 per cent electricity, already designed by Mexican youth, assembled entirely in the country. And it will include the Mexican Space Program, which will place into orbit a satellite that will permit the connectivity of all persons. “In Mexico, the internet is a right,” she declared. In addition, a factory of public software and a center for cybersecurity and artificial intelligence will be created.
Sheinbaum announced the creation of the office of Secretary of Women, dedicated to the implementation of Article Four of the Constitution, which declares the substantive equality of women and the right of women to a life free of violence in all its forms. She noted that in the press conference of the following day, a package of measures to be sent to the Congress will be presented. There should not exist, she noted, a salary gap between men and women; there should be equal pay for equal work, without discrimination in the workplace.
Claudia announced a number of measures oriented to the increase of food production for domestic consumption as well as an increase in the production of fossil-fuel and solar energy, involving both private and state sectors. And she announced a detailed program for the construction and repair of the transportation system, including roads, railways, seaports, and airports. Military engineers and sailors will be used in these projects. And she announced an expansion of the program of housing construction.
She ended with the 100th point, having to do with crime.
We will guarantee the reduction of high-impact crimes. Calderón's irresponsible war on drugs, which did so much damage to our country, will not return. Our conviction remains that security and peace are the fruit of justice. We are consolidating the strategy, which consists of four axes: attention to the causes, strengthening of the National Guard, intelligence and investigation, and coordination. Attention to the causes means guaranteeing the right to education, housing, decent work of the young people of our country. And we will do the Youth Uniting the Nation program to continue taking young people out of crime. The National Guard will be consolidated. It has already been approved in the Constitution as part of the Ministry of National Defense. For those who criticize that this is militarization, false, in our country there is no state of exception, there are no violations of human rights, what we have now with the Fourth Transformation is more democracy, more freedoms and a true rule of law that we are going to build with the change in the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and the Judiciary. In addition, the supreme commander of the Armed Forces is a civilian and is a woman, and we are never going to give an order to repress the people of Mexico. We will make a national intelligence and investigation system for public security. And we will increase coordination with the states, with the municipalities, with the Public Prosecutor's Office.
Claudia Sheinbaum concluded.
I have clear in my mind that my responsibility is to lead Mexico along the path of peace, security, democracy, care for the environment, freedoms and justice.
I am clear that our guide is the well-being and happiness of the people.
I am clear that the Second Floor of the Fourth Transformation is going to be done by all of us. Therefore, I pledge 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. I pledge to you to always defend Mexico. I pledge to exalt love, truth, honesty and fraternity, and to condemn every form of discrimination.
I am here to commit myself to you, to tell the people of Mexico, in this wonderful square, heart of the homeland where we met so many times with Andrés Manuel López Obrador and will continue to meet, that I will not fail you.
I pledge to you not to lie, not to steal, and never to betray the people of Mexico.
I am committed to continue making history.
Long live the Fourth Transformation!
Long live Mexico!
§
The Mexico of the fourth transformation is an example for the world: focus on cooperation with other nations, not on war; and focus on scientific and technological development and improving the productivity of the national economy, using the fruits of productive work to provide for education, health care, nutrition, and housing, defined as rights. The Mexico of the fourth transformation shows what is possible where there are the resources as well as the political will.
I am inclined to think that Claudia Sheinbaum represents the best results and the greatest hopes of the Latin American struggle for independence and true sovereignty, the Jewish migration to America, the movement for women’s rights, the student revolution of 1968, and the rejection by the peoples of the neoliberal project. She is a product of all those dynamics, and she now has the support of the majority of the people of Mexico and the world. We ought to carefully observe the development of the important project she now leads, with a critical but also a listening mode.
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Thank you for this incredible article about Mexico's new president and the Fourth Transformation, ushered in by AMLO. I was in MX to watch AMLO's inauguration, and although I could understand very few words, I understood the reactions of the people--the hope for a better future. I am excited that President Scheinbaum and I almost share a birth date, and I look forward to getting back to MX to experience the fruits of hers and AMLO's successes.