The image that had been expected for a week—at least—was taken at the doors of the National Palace of Mexico early on Monday afternoon. The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and the president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum, holding hands with their arms raised, in a gesture of victory. The two leaders met for the first time since the elections on June 2 to agree on the terms under which the transition of the Government will take place, which will begin in the coming days and will end on October 1 with the inauguration. In a press conference after the meeting, Sheinbaum reported that they will promote in principle three of the reforms proposed by López Obrador to address at the beginning of the new legislative period: improving public sector pensions, the non-reelection reform and the judicial reform. Regarding the latter, they have agreed to open a debate before September 1 that includes multiple actors to put together a plural proposal. “Let the people of Mexico discuss it,” she said. The until recently candidate has detailed that she will meet this Tuesday with a team of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and that she will name her Cabinet next week. “From there the formal transition process would begin.”
The president-elect, who won by more than 30 points in the presidential elections on June 2, is expected to receive the certificate of winner in the coming days. Beforehand, the National Electoral Institute must resolve all challenges that have been made to the elections. But the transition is already underway. The meeting between the two politicians, behind closed doors, began around 2:30 p.m., a face-to-face lunch in which they ate tomato soup and fish. There they discussed what last week put the Mexican peso in check: the new overwhelming majority that Morena has in Congress. With three senators missing to achieve a qualified majority, the party has said that it will seek to advance the package of reforms that the president presented in February, 18 constitutional and two simple.
This Monday, Sheinbaum highlighted, after several gestures to calm the market, the strength of the Mexican economy. And she has also recounted the requests that she made to López Obrador at the meeting: “I expressed my interest in having some social programs that I promoted during the campaign incorporated into the 20 reforms that were sent.” These two additions, as she has said, correspond to the economic support that she promised to women between 60 and 64 years old—which she has asked to be a constitutional reform—and a universal scholarship for all children in public schools in the country. country.
With a much more conciliatory tone than López Obrador is used to, the elected candidate explained that all legislative proposals will be discussed in the future, but they will begin in the first months with the reform of the law of the Institute of Security and Social Services of the State Workers (ISSSTE), to increase the pensions of workers in the sector; with the modification to prohibit re-election in office; and judicial reform, on which the president has insisted so much. Regarding this, Sheinbaum has asked the president to open a dialogue with the bars, law schools, ministers and workers of the Judiciary, among others. “Let there be a very broad discussion throughout the country,” she said, “[López Obrador] “He agreed with this approach that I made to him and it has to be done prior to the start of the opening of sessions in September.”
The discussions will have to be organized, as explained, in the coming months, to arrive in time to discuss them in the new Legislature, before López Obrador leaves office. Sheinbaum has defended the need for a broad debate under the idea that many people do not fully understand how the Judicial Branch works. “That the reform is known, and that the issue is discussed, this dialogue always helps,” she noted. Faced with the request of the workers of the judicial system to be heard, Sheinbaum has promised that he will receive them.
“Some good advice,” López Obrador had said in the morning in relation to those who will be part of the next Executive, is that “if they are going to take charge of a government, let’s see, how we are going to work, the plan, what we are going to do.” to do, how many resources we have, what the priorities are going to be.” The president had assured hours before the meeting that he would not pressure Sheinbaum with the application of Plan C, the majority in Congress, to approve the reform package. “No, because I respect Claudia a lot and I trust her a lot,” he said. After the meeting, the president published a photo of him next to her on social networks, with the following message: “It was very interesting and emotional to talk with the elected president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. We are friends and together with millions of colleagues, from below and among all, we begin the Fourth Transformation for the good of our beloved people.”
Sheinbaum appointed Juan Ramón de la Fuente as his transition coordinator. Outside of that name, no one else has been considered so far as a member of the transition teams. Asked about the issue, López Obrador said that they will be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday. The president also explained that he would invite the virtual president-elect to tour the country, trips where he wants to show her her great works, such as the Mayan Train or the Interoceanic Train. “I’m going to invite her to go together, she’s not going to go to the entire country, but to some regions, to see if her schedule allows it because she has a lot of work; I know her and I know that she is busy making her plans, and that is very good,” he noted. The president-elect confirmed in the afternoon that she will go on the trips. “We agreed to review it so we can accompany him on the different tours,” she said.
Sheinbaum’s first steps in power will be under the microscope mainly due to speculation about the true departure of López Obrador. Many voices fear that the president, who has said that he will retire, does not ultimately want to do so. This Monday, the president gave details of what he plans to do starting October 1. “I must hand over the band and goodbye, I am retiring. And I have never acted inconsistently, I never, always stand by what I say, I fulfill my commitments. Furthermore, I have already finished my cycle,” he stated. And then he added that he will close his social networks, will not give press conferences, and will avoid receiving politicians and citizens at his house. He will use the time, about three or four years, to write an investigation, he explained. Although this Monday he did not give further details, on other occasions he has indicated that it will be about conservative thought.
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