Mexico elected a woman as head of government for the first time on Sunday. At the end of this historic election where the two favorite candidates were held by women, what can we expect from the new presidenta of the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world? An expert looks ahead to Claudia Sheinbaum’s future six-year term.
What does Claudia Sheinbaum intend to bring as the new head of government and successor to the outgoing president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador?
Sheinbaum follows the exact line of his predecessor in the Movement for National Regeneration (Morena). “She even said that she was not going to change an inch or deviate even a little bit from the guidelines that the Morena party has put in place,” reports Marie-Christine Doran, full professor at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa and director of the Observatory of violence, criminalization and democracy.
Morena, which claims to be the party of the poor, during the previous mandate, increased the minimum wage by 120%, which had not been increased in more than thirty years. It also doubled purchasing power and lifted five million people out of poverty. A pledge, according to Mme Doran, of the “great success of the government on the social level”.
Although Morena presents itself as a left-wing populist party, it is nevertheless conservative on a macroeconomic level and has pursued neoliberal policies for the last six years.
Major upheavals are therefore not to be expected, judges Marie-Christine Doran, except on one point: climate change.
Like other Latin American countries, Mexico is currently struggling with severe droughts and difficulties accessing water. While López Obrador had no speech on environmental issues, Sheinbaum “brought the idea of making the right to water a human right”.
The former mayor of Mexico City assured that she wanted to guarantee greater collective participation in the management of blue gold. “It’s really the only thing we could say that distinguishes Sheinbaum from López Obrador,” emphasizes Marie-Christine Doran.
What can we expect in terms of defending women’s rights in Mexico, with a woman at the head of the country?
Although she is a woman, Claudia Sheinbaum is no different from her predecessor in her approach to defending women’s rights.
“Both discredited women’s movements, feminist movements, by treating them as violent, dangerous people who always want more,” reports Mme Doran.
While it is estimated that one in ten women is killed daily in Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum would be wrong to continue to criminalize or stigmatize the feminist movement, believes Marie-Christine Doran.
“ [Son élection]this is a very big step forward in terms of the political representation of women, […] but this is not a guarantee that issues related to women’s rights will still be put forward,” says the professor.
“To see a woman at the head of the country, it could perhaps change certain mentalities, which are still very far from what they should be,” she continues.
How does the president plan to tackle drug cartel violence?
The problem at the heart of the fight against drug trafficking is linked to impunity, according to Mme Doran, which she explains by collusion between peace officers or soldiers and drug traffickers.
However, Morena wanted to give more power to the authorities so that they would not have to answer to anyone.
“If we put all kinds of obstacles in the way of them, for example responding to lawsuits in the event of human rights violations, we will delay their work and prevent them from doing it properly,” specifies M.me Doran on the argument behind this reform.
Deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, this reform, called military fire, should be proposed again by Morena. “A major problem”, according to Mme Doran, observed in other Latin American countries, including El Salvador.
What impact could this election have on relations between Canada and Mexico?
All countries were encouraged at the start of López Obrador’s mandate, recalls Marie-Christine Doran. Parity in political representation was notably recognized in 2019 in Mexico.
Nevertheless, the professor notes “a 180 degree turn” in terms of the rule of law and violation of human rights compared to what was announced at the beginning. The opioids at the origin of the crisis affecting the United States, Canada and even Quebec are also produced in Mexico, she mentions.
“I think there will be no major change for the moment in Canada’s relationship with Mexico,” she says. But certainly, there could be questions that arise if rule of law issues start to circulate and violence [augmente]. »