As was the case at every mañanera last week, Mexico’s ongoing flood disaster was the central focus of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s press conference on Monday morning.
The death toll associated with flooding in Veracruz, Hidalgo, Puebla and Querétaro currently stands at 76, with an additional 27 people classified as missing.
Beyond the floods, reporters on Monday morning asked Sheinbaum about the relaunch of a previously powerful political party and the result of Bolivia’s presidential election.
Sheinbaum criticizes political party relaunch as flood disaster continues
Two days after the opposition National Action Party (PAN) announced the termination of its alliance with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and “relaunched” itself as a “more-open, modern and citizen-focused PAN,” a reporter asked the president her opinion about the developments.
“Can a party be rebuilt through marketing?” the reporter asked.
Sheinbaum didn’t immediately respond to the question, choosing instead to criticize the PAN for the timing of its relaunch.
“I would rather say that there was very little sensitivity [with the choice of] the day they did it, right?” she said.
“… There are tens of thousands of families affected [by the floods], with problems, and in the midst of that a political party relaunch is carried out. They could have waited 15 days, don’t you think? Until the emergency … was over,” Sheinbaum said.
The fact that the PAN went ahead with its relaunch — which includes a new logo and a new slogan (Homeland, Family, Freedom) — in Mexico City on Saturday “speaks to their vision and their lack of sensitivity and love for the people,” the president said.
Continuing her criticism of the PAN’s relaunch, Sheinbaum said that “the same people” are still involved with the party. It is currently Mexico’s main opposition party in the federal Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, both of which are dominated by the Morena party and its allies.
The conservative PAN was last in government at the federal level during the presidency of Felipe Calderón from 2006 to 2012. Sheinbaum, like her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador — who narrowly lost the 2006 presidential election to Calderón — is a fierce critic of Calderón, blaming him for a range of problems the country suffers today, especially violence.
The PAN contested Mexico’s 2024 elections as part of a coalition that also included the PRI and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD). The coalition’s presidential candidate was Xóchitl Gálvez, who attracted support of around 27% compared to Sheinbaum’s 60%.
Sheinbaum emphasizes the importance of unity in politics
A reporter asked the president about the results of the presidential election in Bolivia, noting that “the left” will no longer hold the presidency in the South American nation.
Centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira prevailed over former Bolivian president and conservative rival Jorge Quiroga in Sunday’s runoff.
Sheinbaum said that “from the perspective of the progressive movements in Latin America, it’s a shame that [the left] split there in Bolivia.”
Two leftist candidates contested the first round of the presidential election. One finished in fourth place with 8.5% of the vote while the other attracted support of just over 3% to place sixth in an eight-candidate field.
Sheinbaum stressed that “for our movement” — i.e. the “Fourth transformation” political movement led by the Morena party — “unity is very important.”
“Sometimes that is played down, but speaking politically about the transformation movement, it’s very important to remain united because when you split that’s when you lose strength with the people,” she said.
There are some rumblings about division within Morena, which was founded by López Obrador, but the party remains popular, and the president even more so. Sheinbaum’s approval rating when she concluded her first year in office on Sept. 30 was 73%, according to the results of a poll conducted by the El Financiero newspaper.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
