Mexico Leader Pledges Talks on Women’s History and Public Health

(Bloomberg) -- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged to give lessons on women’s history and public health notices, setting the tone for the daily conferences that her predecessor began. 

Sheinbaum wrapped up her first press conference as president in under 90 minutes, signaling a break with Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who would routinely speak for three hours or more.

Standing in front of a new icon of a woman holding a Mexican flag, she outlined her plans for the coming weeks, including a visit from Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German industrialists in November, and a trip today to the storm-struck city of Acapulco. She also said she will present her security plan on Oct. 8, as the new administration seeks to curb an upsurge in drug violence.  

Future morning conferences will include segments on public health, and iconic women in Mexico’s history, and allow for more citizen participation, she said. Sheinbaum is seeking to put her own seal on the conferences that were a tool for delivering Lopez Obrador’s message to the Mexican public.

She offered a formal public apology for the state’s killing of student protesters on this day in 1968, as she presents herself as a leader whose politics were shaped since childhood by a response to state repression. She recounted how her mother had lost her job as a university professor by supporting the protesters, who had taken to the streets with banners ahead of the Summer Olympics, which were held in Mexico that year. 

Sheinbaum reaffirmed her support for the country’s controversial judicial reform, stating that Mexico’s court workers would be protected and saying they had no reason to strike. On October 15, the candidate-selection process for judges will begin.

--With assistance from Carolina Millan and Alex Vasquez.

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