Politics: Claudia Sheinbaum aspires to be the first president of Mexico and consolidate AMLO’s project

The head of the Government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, a decorated physicist who aspires to become the country’s first female president, hopes its environmental credentials and success in reducing crime will help it stand out in the race to succeed Andrés Manuel López Obrador in the 2024 elections.

“I’ve been there through the good times and the bad, the difficult and the not difficult”

The close ally of López Obrador has held a slight lead over rivals in recent opinion pollsas she prepares to compete to be the standard-bearer for the ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena).

A strong supporter of the social welfare programs promoted by President López Obrador – which have helped forge his support base and address inequality in the country of 126 million people – Sheinbaum, 60, is seen by many within the party as the natural successor.

“I’ve been there through the good times and the bad, the difficult and the not difficult”he said in an interview with Reuters at the municipal palace, pointing to a shared past with the President, which dates back to his time as Secretary of the Environment of the capital, during López Obrador’s administration at the head of the city between 2000 and 2005.

“The President’s projects must be consolidated. I agree with the President’s vision of a Mexico with justice, where the welfare state must be a fundamental part of development”he added.

López Obrador, who cannot run for re-election, has dominated local politics since he took office in late 2018, and Morena is still more popular than the opposition parties.

Sheinbaum, whose measured scientific reserve contrasts with López Obrador’s combative approach, said that if he succeeded him, he was very aware of how symbolic the achievement would be for girls and women in Mexico and beyond its borders.

“We have to consolidate the President’s projects”

“The thought that I can represent not only the women of Mexico, but of many countries, is an enormous pride (…) and a responsibility as well”said the 60-year-old doctor in Environmental Engineering, praising Katya Echazarreta, who in June became the first Mexican to travel to space.

Renewable Mexico

López Obrador’s push to strengthen state energy firms – oil company Pemex and power company CFE – that rely heavily on fossil fuels, at the expense of private wind and solar power companies, has caused friction with the United States. and other longtime allies.

“Renewable energies must be strongly promoted in the country”said Sheinbaum, who was part of an intergovernmental panel on Climate Change that shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

In addition, he added that he considers it “feasible” to exceed the goals of the Paris Agreement, which, among other things, represent a commitment for Mexico to increase the percentage of electricity generation from clean energy sources to 35% by 2024 and 43% by the year 2030.

Asked about her vision on economic and tax issues and if you would be in favor of higher taxesreplied that this would depend on the state of the public coffers at that time.

“First you have to see the existing resources, the payment of taxes and then, in any case, think about a tax reform”advancement.

Some results achieved in the capital differentiate it from the federal administration, above all, in terms of security.

The city has targeted problem areas, increased the number of police on the streets and their salaries, he said, and quadrupled the number of video surveillance cameras.
While the national number of murders barely fell in 2021, from a record high of nearly 34,000 in 2018, it fell by more than a third in Mexico City during the same period.

Other states had taken note and the capital’s achievements could offer a model for others to work according to their own characteristics, he maintained, noting that the key to success is “coordination, coordination, coordination.”

OA