Deep Dive from @elreportero on to mexican politics | Episode 2

El Reportero

We expected signs of national reconciliation in her inaugural speech as president. It didn't happen.

We expected signs of harmony and peace during her speech in the Zócalo. It didn’t happen either.

We expected those signals of dialogue with the opposition or with those who didn’t vote for her during her first press conference. That didn’t happen either.

Claudia Sheinbaum began her six-year term without giving, up until this moment we are discussing it, a single sign that she wants to effectively reconcile with many Mexicans or that she wants to work towards peace and harmony, or build alliances with many people who didn’t vote for her and, up until now, still don’t trust her.

We were hoping, of course, for at least a small signal toward an opposition that has shrunk, hidden, and diminished itself, but is still there.

Nothing, zero. President Claudia Sheinbaum hasn’t even acknowledged them, nor have they warranted even a single mention in her speeches.

This is ominous because, at the end of the day, Mexico is divided, estranged, completely polarized. "Us, the poor; you, the rich," "the bad and the good," "the orcs and the elves."

Many of us, admittedly naïve, hoped that one of the president's first acts would appeal to what she has claimed is her republican vocation.

Not a hint of that Claudia.

46% of voters in Mexico did not vote for Claudia. 46% of the population that makes decisions in this country is not being taken into account by the president. 46% of Mexicans are still waiting for a sign, even a small one, that the president will consider them.

And Claudia Sheinbaum has said absolutely nothing to them. Not disdain, but also not reconciliation, no joint work, no offer, no extending a hand to say, "Alright, let's work together for a better Mexico." Nothing, zero.

However, the praise for the former president has already started to bore us, and it has become quite clear that she will continue to be a puppet for him.

And yes, the attacks against the enemies and the evildoers identified by the "Fourth Transformation" are present. Zedillo and Calderón got their mentions and insults. As for the workers of the judiciary, there wasn’t even the slightest intention to listen to them; she simply told them to return to work because their salaries are secure, as if the issue was solely about the money they earn.

Zero resolution, zero dialogue. This is how Claudia Sheinbaum’s term begins, who says that those who think her presidency will be authoritarian are mistaken. It doesn’t take much to realize that she doesn’t even need to exercise authoritarianism when both houses of Congress are hers. She has total power, and instead of using it to reconcile Mexico, no, she chooses to keep dividing it, following the same path as her predecessor: hatred, division, polarizing rhetoric, the same old villains.

Many of us expected the president to signal that Mexico is bigger than its divisions, that we as Mexicans are stronger than our hatreds, that we can engage in dialogue despite our differences. Dignity and elevation. Not a single ounce of it.

However, her imitation of Carlos Salinas de Gortari was spot on.

"I neither see you nor hear you. I don’t care about you. I’m not interested. I’m not going to listen to you."

We will have to see if, during her first week, any part of her speech speaks, even a little, of harmony and peace for the Mexican people who didn’t vote for her.