President Claudia Sheinbaum was congratulated by reporters shortly after she appeared in the Treasury Hall of the National Palace for her Wednesday morning press conference.
The reason? She has now completed one year of her six-year presidency, having been sworn in as Mexico’s first woman leader on Oct. 1, 2024.
President Sheinbaum’s first year in office in 12 numbers: Part 1
Sheinbaum, in turn, congratulated the press corps for “enduring the first year of [her] mañaneras.”
‘The most important thing is to maintain conviction’
A reporter asked the president what “single adjective” she would use to describe her first year as Mexico’s president.
“Now, you’ve really made it hard for me,” Sheinbaum responded.
“… We come from a social movement, from the fight for democracy, from the fight for the well-being of the people, from the fight for freedoms,” she said.
“And I believe that the most important thing is to maintain conviction,” Sheinbaum said without directly responding to the reporter’s question.
“… There is a conviction of service to the people above all else,” she said.
Like her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum has made providing support for Mexico’s most disadvantaged citizens — especially through welfare programs — her government’s raison d’être. She is also committed to improving the lives of Mexican women.
The president alluded to that commitment in a video she shared to social media on Wednesday to mark the completion of her first year in office. Among Sheinbaum’s remarks included in the video are:
- It’s time for women. All of us women are arriving [to the presidency] and that’s very, very powerful.
- I’m convinced that we are on the verge of a new era, that of the rebirth of Mexico.
- I will not fail you.
- I’m [just] another citizen in this magnificent country, with a responsibility that the people gave me.
- Mexico is a free, independent and sovereign country.
‘We have to achieve the 100 points’
Sheinbaum told reporters that her government has a responsibility to keep its promises to the people of Mexico.
“We committed to 100 points, we have to achieve the 100 points,” she said.
Sheinbaum was referring to 100 commitments she outlined during a speech in Mexico City’s central square, the Zócalo, the day she was sworn in as president.
Those commitments included reducing high-impact crimes such as homicides, developing new passenger railroads, lifting the minimum wage on an annual basis and commencing the production of lithium “with our own technology.”
The greatest challenges Sheinbaum has faced … will be revealed on Sunday
Asked what challenges she has faced during her first year as president, Sheinbaum told reporters they will have to wait until Sunday.
On Sunday, she will deliver a speech in the Zócalo, which will mark the end of her nationwide “accountability tour.”
Toward the end of his first year as president, López Obrador recounted the five most difficult moments he had faced in office, choosing the explosion of a gasoline pipeline in Hidalgo as the hardest. The January 2019 explosion of a pipeline that had been perforated by fuel thieves claimed 137 lives.
What has Sheinbaum missed the most during her first year as president?
A reporter asked the president what she has missed the most “from her daily life” during the first year of her presidency.
“Perhaps being more with the family,” Sheinbaum said.
“… One always sacrifices that part. I would like to spend more time with my grandson,” she said.
Sheinbaum’s stepson from her first marriage has a young son. The president, who married for a second time in 2023, has a daughter from her first marriage, which lasted almost 30 years.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
