What place does Claudia Sheinbaum want in Mexico’s history?

President Claudia Sheinbaum delivering the cry of independence in Mexico City’s Zocalo. Image credit: Presidency of Mexico.

by Andrew Law, editor and founder.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum became the first woman to deliver the Cry of Independence from the Presidential Palace this week, coinciding with the 215th anniversary of the nation’s independence. She used the moment to highlight female heroes long excluded from the ritual, remarking that recovering women’s place in Mexico’s history is part of what it means to be the country’s first female president. For generations of girls, she asked, what did it mean to hear only men named as heroes of independence, to never see yourself reflected in the story of your nation?

That a woman was all but guaranteed to win the presidency in last year’s election is a point of pride for a country still marked by machismo and an epidemic of violence against women and girls. This week of all weeks, her symbolism is undeniable. While she often uses symbolism at a crutch to evade taking tougher political actions, Sheinbaum was right to recognize her responsibility in correcting the historic record this week. But one year on, what matters for her legacy is whether she can turn the fact of being first into a transformative act. To do so, she will need to move beyond the symbolic.

Sheinbaum governs under the shadow of two men: former president López Obrador at home and US President Donald Trump abroad. Some supporters argue that framing her presidency in these terms is misogynist, as if she were only the sum of the men around her. But recognizing her constraints does not erase her agency; it defines the terms on which she must prove it. For her to become truly pivotal, she must step out of both men’s shadows.

So far Sheinbaum has done more to extend AMLO’s project than to reshape it. She has carried forward his judicial reform, clipped the wings of watchdog agencies, and is now pushing an amparo reform that would further complicate civic challenge. Power continues to pool in the military. And Pemex still eats the budget while health, culture, education, and environmental programs are squeezed. The price of AMLO’s cash transfers has been economic stress that keeps her tethered to Washington’s “Fortress North America.”

For a president elected on a wave of historic symbolism, the reality of her presidency so far has been one of crushing constraint, shaped less by her own priorities than by the demands of others. It’s unlikely Sheinbaum imagined this for herself in her younger, activist days. But she still has five years to go. And with a personal approval rating in the high 70s, she has political capital to spend to make the presidency her own.

The irony is that Trump’s confrontational approach to cartels may open her path. While there is widespread feeling within the Mexican government that its approach to security is winning over Trump’s team, the fact remains corruption is endemic at the local, state, and federal levels, despite the president’s fanciful claims to the contrary.

In fact, unresolved corruption allegations around key MORENA figures, and now the Navy, are a source of persistent political pain for Sheinbaum. And Washington continues to press hard on the issue. Rumors suggest intelligence leaks from Washington are what helped propel the fuel theft scandal engulfing the Navy, forcing the Navy Minister into a humiliating speech in front of foreign dignitaries during official celebrations this week.

Those revelations have exposed what journalist Jacobo Dayán calls a “macro-criminal network” of organized crime, business, and state institutions. That such collusion exists in Mexico is not news, but the scandal has laid bare how deeply many arms of the state have been captured and how exposed certain MORENA figures may be to that network. Adding to the perception of corruption within the party, news broke this week that former president López Obrador’s son was granted an injunction against future prosecution by judges in Zacatecas and Mexico City, despite López Beltrán’s protests that he never sought such relief. Sheinbaum demanded answers as to who filed the claims during her press conference this week, and will be acutely aware of how damaging the news is.

This crisis is a political migraine, but it’s also the singular chance of Sheinbaum’s presidency, if only she can grasp the possibility in front of her. She hasn’t faced allegations of personal corruption. If she wants to, the president could use US pressure and the strength of her political standing as cover to move aggressively against corrupt figures within MORENA and the state, and not just the lower-profile figures her government has targeted at the behest of the US. Yes, doing so could trash López Obrador’s legacy. But it wouldn’t necessarily weaken MORENA’s political dominance. It might instead strengthen it, turning his fourth transformation into her feminist reinvention, inoculating her against potential retaliatory recall efforts.

Based on the last year’s events, the overwhelming balance of probability is that none of this happens. But not long ago, the idea of a woman delivering the presidential cry of independence seemed fanciful. Claudia Sheinbaum has five more years to make her historic role significant to history. She’s not about to reverse her party’s assault on Mexico’s political pluralism and democratic institutions – that’s regrettably baked in. But as Sheinbaum reflects on the week’s events, does she want to be remembered simply as the builder of one man’s compromised design, or the architect of her own?