¡Es Claudia!

Generational political talent Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, President of the United Mexican States, celebrated the one-year anniversary of her presidency on October 1. Since it’s often cited that she has an approval rating in excess of 70%, and that she comes from a leftist party (Morena), I’d like to give my take on why she’s so popular, and what Democrats can learn from her success.

Let’s begin with the fact that she has a mandate unlike anything Democrats will (probably) see in our lifetimes. Morena has a supermajority in the Mexican House and big majority in the Senate. Via that majority, Claudia is executing Plan Mexico, an ambitious plan to move Mexico from 12th to 10th in world economies, decrease poverty and inequality, energize Mexican manufacturing to create far more products domestically, and to lower poverty and inequality.

Plan Mexico is Claudia’s contribution to what her predecessor AMLO called the Fourth Transformation. His goal was to do away with the privileged abuses of previous administrations, to lower salaries of the President and cabinet ministers, and to do away with their luxurious lifestyles in general. Claudia dresses plainly, flies economy when she leaves the country, and drives around in regular vehicles.

This is her 365 day documentary (it has a mediocre AI English dub):

As with much of her social media, “The Transformation Advances” is mentioned frequently. You can see her being driven though Mexico City in an economy car, traveling throughout Mexico in an unarmored SUV, climbing out at every little town to address the crowds, and opening hospitals until hell won’t have it anymore.

I do love Mexico, and I love good politics, and, man, this woman is just doing it right. It isn’t easy — as you can see if you watch the video above, you’ll see that she looks tired. The keys to her success are:

• Implementing the change Morena promised. Since AMLO was president, 13 million Mexicans have been lifted out of poverty by Morena social programs, meaning that 42% of Mexicans were in poverty at the start of Morena rule, and 29.6% are now. Hospitals are being opened at a record pace. Homicides are down, though figures are disputed. Claudia’s team claims a 25% reduction.

• Constantly, endlessly talking about the change Morena promised. Claudia’s social media is the best political social media account I’ve ever seen. Everything she does is documented by a talented video crew. She posts frequently. She has daily press conferences where she talks about whatever issue she wants to highlight, and her ministers often make presentations.

• Projecting optimism, energy and a genuine love of Mexico. She has a PhD and is a sophisticated person, but she speaks in clear, unambiguous, declarative sentences (I know because my Spanish is terrible and I can often understand her speeches). The notion that there has to be some contradiction between being a highly educated person and a genuine politician is a construct of our fucked up media. And, like Bernie Sanders and AOC, if you have a clear mission, it’s easier to have clear messaging.

• Leaning into her identity as a woman and celebrating women every chance she gets.

Of all the major US trading partners, it’s widely acknowledged that Claudia has probably done the best job of handling Trump. This is a major driver of her popularity in Mexico. One of her themes is the dignity of the Mexican people. She’ll compromise on trade policy, security, etc., but she will always push back on Trump’s anti-Mexican nonsense, and she delegates negotiation to her subordinates.

I don’t know if this country is going to be able to pull itself out of the depths of authoritarian corruption, but Mexico is doing it. They’re a model for Democrats. I want us to pay attention. But I frankly don’t know if there’s enough of us who have the bravery and commitment of Claudia and some of her cabinet. Her security minister, for example, when he was Mexico City Chief of Police, survived an assassination attempt that left his car looking like this:

Finally, two weeks ago Mexicans celebrated their Independence Day with an event called the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores) where the President honors heroes of the 1810 Mexican Revolution. The President stands on a balcony in the Presidential Palace, overlooking the Zocalo (the public square in Mexico City), shouts out names of honored heroes, and rings the same bell that was rung by a priest as a call to arms in 1810. 100,000 Mexicans crowd the Zocalo during this ceremony, and Trump would be very jealous of the pageant and spectacle on display here. It’s the President’s choice which heroes are honored, and of course she chose to honor women. Prior to the ceremony, her Instagram had a story about the sash she wore, which was created by some female soldiers in the Mexican Army. It’s just a little slice of the pomp and ceremony of her presidency. Again, she leans in, because she’s a natural political talent. (Her husband, not so much.)

When AMLO won the presidency, he moved into the National Palace, and opened the former Presidential residence as a cultural landmark. Claudia continues that tradition. As you can see from watching the video above, the National Palace makes the White House look like a quaint cottage. The move there was entirely intentional, symbolic politics — harkening back to the origins of Mexico and reclaiming that for Morena and the Fourth Transformation. If we’re going to get out of Trumpism, re-claiming the symbols of our revolution will be one important step.