Photo: Massive crowd gathers for President Claudia Sheinbaum’s inauguration ceremony. Photo: @Claudiashein
In the afternoon of Oct. 1 in Mexico City’s main square el Zocalo, a beautiful opening ceremony led by women representatives from 70 Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities stole the crowd’s attention. Each woman was welcomed to the stage with a stalk of a corn plant, a deeply important cultural symbol. The country’s first woman president, Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum, was the last to be welcomed to the stage to receive the baton of command of the Indigenous peoples. The ceremonial object represents political and spiritual authority. In addition, it symbolizes commitment to fully guarantee the right of all communities to equality under the law.
Immediately after the ceremony, Dr. Sheinbaum gave her first address as President in front of a crowd of over 100,000 people, where she outlined the 100 commitments of her six-year term.
Abby Cristal, a woman in her 20s who traveled from the Mexican state of Tabasco, shared her motivations for her visit: “We are here today to witness this historic moment for all of us Mexicans, especially for all of us women. We are going to join the President in all of the tasks she’s going to undertake, and we are going to extend our total support in the ongoing struggle for the Fourth Transformation. My expectation for her is to continue to abide by the 4T principles: not to lie, not to steal and not to betray the people of Mexico. I am sure that she will fulfill it.”
The “Fourth Transformation” that Cristal refers to is the name of the process of progressive social and political reform that began with outgoing president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (popularly referred to as AMLO). Sheinbaum now has the responsibility of leading this process into its second stage.
In her list of commitments, Sheinbaum promised to continue the work initiated by Obrador. She plans to expand on the social programs that currently exist for the poor, the youth, the elderly and for all women. Crowd favorites included her commitments to put an end to class discrimination, misogyny, the existence of nepotism in the government and the destruction caused by decades of neoliberalism under prior administrations.
Edith, who was born in the state of Colima and moved to Mexico City 50 years ago, shared her reflections: “I feel very satisfied with the past six years—it has been an ongoing struggle. We have been following this movement since its inception. We were fighting alongside the former President, AMLO, since the election fraud back in 2006. We were out in the streets, here in the main square, with him. And I’m here now because it’s my conviction. I believed in AMLO’s work, in what he promised and in what he has achieved along the way, and I sincerely hope that Dr. Sheinbaum continues the work he started.”
The significance of the MORENA victory
Thirty five million poor and working class people of Mexico made history on June 2. The country had two options: Xóchitl Gálvez, a right-wing politician promising to reverse the progressive policies that AMLO implemented under his administration; or Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum, a lifelong activist and public official representing the continuation of the government led by the MORENA party (Movimiento Regeneración Nacional).
The country’s first progressive woman president has been elected to lead the country for the next 6 years. She prevailed with the highest vote total ever secured by a candidate in the history of Mexico’s elections, sending a clear message: the people want to fortify the second stage of the Fourth Transformation.
Hundreds of election observers, including this author, took part in an international delegation to witness and defend the country’s electoral process on June 2. The international delegation included top political leaders from across the region such as Venezuela’s Jorge Arreaza and Bolivia’s Evo Morales. The election observers witnessed hundreds of Mexican voters lining up in the early morning outside of the polling stations to be the first to cast their votes. Mexican youth were present at every polling station that observers visited, and voters expressed the importance of participating in such a historic election. Polls projected MORENA candidates to be in a strong position despite the horrific attacks against its militants leading up to election day.
The evening of the election, many of those participating in the delegation began to walk to el Zócalo. Hundreds of people walking in the same direction were in high spirits – chanting and proudly waving MORENA flags. Thousands of people were gathered in el Zócalo in front of a mass stage–waiting to welcome in the new president. Ranchera classics were played by a mariachi band while many in the crowd sang along. There was MORENA memorabilia everywhere As midnight approached, it was confirmed that Dr. Sheinbaum won a sweeping victory, obtaining over 60% of the votes, the highest in the history of Mexican democracy.
In the general elections that transpired in 2006 and in 2012, Mexico’s corporate media and right wing elite carried out election fraud to prevent a progressive leadership from taking power. It was finally in 2018 when the popular mandate was so overwhelming that AMLO was able to come into office. To this day, he remains widely popular.
The inception of MORENA
In just one decade, MORENA has become the dominant political force in Mexico, effectively managing to wipe the PRI (Revolutionary Institutional Party) from the electoral map after holding uninterrupted power for seven decades. Many MORENA militants would argue that while the party was formally registered in 2014, it all began in 1994 in response to the inauguration of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and neoliberal policies introduced by former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari in 1991. AMLO, who became Mexico City’s head of government from 2000 to 2005, implemented social programs that laid the groundwork for his presidency. These included scholarships, pension for the elderly, social housing, and aid to single mothers.
In 2006, AMLO commenced his first presidential bid under the PRD (Party of the Democratic Revolution). His presidential bid faced strong opposition from the conservative party PAN (National Action Party) and the corporate media, which succeeded in stealing the election. This injustice fueled the Obradista movement and continued resistance to neoliberal policies.
MORENA has always confronted many internal and external challenges. While the movement is powered by the support of the masses of Mexican workers, it must still operate in an economy and state dominated by the capitalist class. There are sections of this capitalist class within MORENA as well. This is a common dilemma faced by progressive and socialist governments across Latin America. In the last 20 years, similar political forces have made great gains, but they have also suffered setbacks depending on international and domestic factors.
AMLO and MORENA have played an important role in Latin American regional politics – promoting solidarity and self-determination across the region. AMLO condemned the 2019 U.S.-backed coup attempt against the Venezuelan government, and resisted the U.S.-dominated Organization of American States’ attempt to intervene in Venezuela’s July election. In Bolivia, AMLO not only denounced the 2019 right-wing coup against former Bolivian president Evo Morales, but also granted the socialist leader asylum – saving his life and paving the way for his eventual triumphant return home.
AMLO has criticized the United States for its foreign intervention in countries as a way to weaken and subjugate them. For instance, he made a significant statement during the 2022 Summit of the Americas by refusing to attend the event, which was held in Los Angeles, California. His absence was a form of protest against the United States’ decision to exclude the governments of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua from the summit. AMLO argued that all nations in the Americas should be included to foster unity, and called for the end of U.S. sanctions.
In late August of this year, Mexico paused relations with the United States and Canada after they criticized AMLO’s proposal for judicial reform as “undemocratic.” Obrador said the US, “has to learn to respect the sovereignty of Mexico.” A couple of weeks following this statement, the Mexican senate passed this reform, which would allow the Mexican people to elect all judges at all levels of government by a popular vote.
¡Por el bien de todos, primero los pobres!
While MORENA continues to face many contradictions internally and externally, they have not had to deal with an oppositional legislature that stonewalls them from passing progressive, anti-neoliberal legislation. The “movement style party” has been able to capture key electoral victories in both houses of Congress, and forge a coalition with the Green Party and the Labor Party. This has allowed the government to enact major constitutional changes unlike its progressive counterparts in Colombia and Peru, which both face a hostile legislative branch. Such a block can prevent progressive parties from achieving the commitments made to its people.
When MORENA won the presidency in 2018, it also won a qualifying supermajority in congress that allowed it to implement constitutional changes. Accomplishments in this period included the passage of a pension plan, universal scholarships and the dramatic expansion of access to healthcare. This was a huge undertaking after decades of privatization, which prevented poor and working class Mexicans from accessing basic necessities.
AMLO’s administration enacted significant minimum wage increases and reforms to labor laws aimed at protecting workers’ rights. He was also able to make reforms in the education sector by guaranteeing free education from pre-school to university to those who have been barred from it due to socio-economic status under previous right-wing administrations. Later in 2020, AMLO enacted a reform in the pension system, increasing worker pensions and reducing the number of weeks workers need to contribute to access retirement benefits.
In 2022, AMLO established the Process of Revocation of the Presidential Mandate organized by the National Electoral Institute (INE) that allows voters to recall the president through a mid-term referendum. As a test of his administration’s strength, over 90% of voters supported AMLO in this referendum. Between 2021 and 2023, AMLO pushed for an overhaul of the country’s energy sector, reversing neoliberal policies that privatized the industry and favored foreign companies. He gave state-owned energy companies such as PEMEX oil and the Federal Commission of Electricity (CFE) more power. Such constitutional reforms have been faced with right-wing resistance, where some proposals have been partially blocked by or watered down by opposition parties and the judiciary.
MORENA faced localized losses in 2021 during the midterm elections, diminishing its power in Congress. Some of these losses are attributed to the opportunist sectors inside the party, which lost the trust of their base.
Despite the setbacks, the Fourth Transformation retained majority support. President Sheinbaum’s historic and record-breaking victory, MORENA’s success securing a super majority in congress once again, is an indication that the poor and working class people of Mexico want to continue to see the process move forward.
President Sheinbaum’s plans
The scientist, public servant, 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and longtime activist has vowed to deepen the “Fourth Transformation” project inaugurated under AMLO. Before she took part in the MORENA primaries, President Sheinbaum brought about a number of structural changes and took vital steps to improve the safety of women as head of government for Mexico City from 2018 to 2023. She strengthened laws against gender-based violence and established specialized units to combat femicide. New protocols and guidelines were introduced to improve the response to gender-based violence, ensuring better protection for women and children. Initiatives were also launched to improve job opportunities for women, and she promoted educational campaigns focused on gender equality and women’s rights.
President Sheinbaum’s political involvement began in the student movement during her time at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where she studied energy and environmental engineering as a graduate student. Her research focused on sustainable development and environmental protection, which laid the basis for her public service career. When she served as Secretary of the Environment in the early 2000s for Mexico City while AMLO was the mayor, she advanced environmental sustainability projects with an emphasis of improving public transportation. She continued and expanded on this work when she became the first woman elected mayor of Mexico City in 2018. During her term, she gave the key to the city to WikiLeaks Founder and political prisoner Julian Assange. She has also spoken out against the blockade against Cuba and praised the advancements of other left-wing governments in the region.
In an exclusive interview with Peoples Dispatch and BreakThrough News in April 2023, she spoke about the significance of the Fourth Transformation, “…states have to give the rights to the people. What do we think is a right? Education, health, a home, pension for all the elders. We also believe in strategic areas of the economy such as energy. The state has to be part of this, especially electricity, oil and mainly and now lithium… it’s important and it’s going to be very important in the future… You cannot have private investment measured only by GDP or international investment. You have to measure investment, public and private, in wealth for the people. And that’s the big difference with neoliberalism that believed that everything was going to be solved by the market.”
After a month of winning the presidency in June, President Sheinbaum announced current pension plans would expand for elderly Indigenous and Afro-Mexican women, with universal support by 2026. This policy represents a major step toward economic security. President Sheinbaum also plans to make scholarships universal for students in public schools, starting with secondary students in 2025. The universal scholarship program aims to break the cycle of poverty. Educational scholarships were available, but Sheinbaum is working to make them universal and accessible to all students in public schools.
In the 100 commitments outlined in her inauguration address, she prioritized the needs of the poor and working people over the elite. She also mentioned that she will defend the country’s sovereignty and democracy from any outside interference. “AMLO brought back the dignity of our country,” she stated, “and we will never give it up again.”
The struggle ahead
AMLO and MORENA have shifted the ideological terrain of the country. However, the balancing act of delivering progressive reforms for the poor in the context of a capitalist economy continues to be a main contradiction for the movement to grapple with. At the same time, challenges within the party inevitably arise as it is a broad movement that encompasses different class forces with competing political orientations – including sectors of the bourgeoisie that are a brake on more radical proposals.
As MORENA develops, it is moving towards greater ideological unity with instruments like the National Institute of Political Formation, or INFP, which has graduated over 200,000 militants. All INFP graduates are trained in political theory including revolutionary Marxist thought. The left wing institute was formed following AMLO’s 2018 victory to consolidate and strengthen the activist core of the party.
Following the general election, the author of this article participated in a week-long program led by the institute’s young militants, who are openly socialist and anti-imperialist. The week-long program included courses on the history of the MORENA party, a lively lecture by the institute’s President Rafael “El Fisgón” Barajas, a workshop on Popular Education, and a book launch presentation on the book “Que es America Latina Hoy” with author Marco Teruggi.
The institute is a massive campus-like space that provides political education programming for MORENA party members and the general public. Inside the institute are beautiful murals, an enlarged Antonio Gramsci quote, a library room with leftist books including those written and published by INFP, a painting of Emiliano Zapata, large classrooms, a lecture hall to host events and panels, and a Palestinian flag to show the institute’s unwavering solidarity.
President Sheinbaum and MORENA face immense challenges: continuing to undo the decades of neoliberal policies, challenging the entrenched power of U.S. corporate interests, and empowering the working class majority. This will require tremendous collective effort and struggle.
