The latest data on homicides, the imminent opening of a new public transport project and an invitation to the newly-elected pope were among the topics President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about at her Monday morning press conference.
Here is a recap of the president’s May 12 mañanera.
Mother’s Day was Mexico’s least violent day since Sheinbaum took office
A reporter highlighted that Saturday May 10 — Mother’s Day in Mexico — was the “day with the lowest number of homicides” since the president took office on Oct. 1, with 46 murders, according to preliminary data.
Sheinbaum declared that it was in fact the least violent weekend in “several years” in terms of homicides.
There were 60 homicides on Sunday, according to preliminary data published by the federal government, bringing the total number of murders on the weekend to 106. The average of 53 homicides per day last weekend is 27.5% lower than the daily average during the first four months of the year in Mexico.
In addition to declaring that Mexico just had its least violent weekend in several years, Sheinbaum highlighted that homicides declined (almost) 25% in April compared to last September, the final month of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s six-year presidency.
“This is the work of the security cabinet with the four [security strategy] pillars we’ve set out,” she said, referring to:
- Attention to the root causes of crime.
- Strengthening of the National Guard.
- Strengthening of intelligence and investigation practices.
- Enhanced security coordination between authorities at the three levels of government.
A trio of powerful women take the trolleybus
A reporter described as “historic, powerful and transcendent” the “image” of three women — Sheinbaum, Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada and México state Governor Delfina Gómez — “inaugurating in a preliminary action” a new elevated trolleybus line connecting Chalco, México state, to Santa Martha Acatitla in Mexico City.
The president, mayor and governor took a ride on the trolebús on Sunday, and all three women took to social media to share videos and photos of their journey.
“It’s a very important project, a metropolitan public transport project for the east of the metropolitan area of the Valley of Mexico, from Chalco to Santa Martha Acatitla and from Santa Marta to [the] Constitución de 1917 [metro station],” Sheinbaum said on Monday morning.
She noted that the new Chalco to Santa Marta Acatitla section of the line will begin operations this Sunday, May 18, although passengers will only be able to board and alight the trolleybus at nine of the 15 stations.
“This form of transport is an innovation. In no other place in the world is there a second story [highway] exclusively used by trolleybuses. The trolleybus is an electric vehicle, it doesn’t contaminate, it doesn’t …[generate] local contamination,” Sheinbaum said.
“… And in addition, [the trolleybus line] doesn’t have traffic lights. … From where it begins to where it ends there are no traffic lights. So the trip will go from an hour and a half to 40 minutes, maximum. So this transport really is an innovation and very important in Mexico and the objective is to take it to other places in the country,” she said.
Sheinbaum highlighted that the new trolleybus line will serve an area of greater Mexico City that has grown a lot over the years.
“It’s an area that has around 10 million residents,” she said.
Federal government to invite new pope to Mexico
Sheinbaum told reporters that Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez will deliver a letter to the Holy See inviting Pope Leo XIV to visit Mexico.
Rodríguez will represent Mexico at the pontiff’s inauguration Mass in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City this Sunday.
“If she can see [the pope] personally, very good,” Sheinbaum said.
“And if she can’t, in any case she’ll deliver a letter to invite him to come to Mexico on the date he deems appropriate,” the president said.
Pope Francis, who died last month at the age of 88 after serving as pontiff for 12 years, visited Mexico in February 2016, stopping in Mexico City, México state, Chiapas, Michoacán and Chihuahua during a six-day tour.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
