“As a country that shares a border with the US and seen very much as part of their ‘backyard’ the progressive changes Mexico has undertaken to put people before profit must be defended.”
By Siân Errington
The 2018 election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) as President, followed by the election in 2024 of Claudia Sheinbaum – the first woman elected President – has led to remarkable progressive change within Mexico in recent years.
Both AMLO and Claudia Sheinbaum are part of the Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional (National Regeneration Movement) political party, commonly known as Morena. Founded in 2011, by standing for a progressive renewal of the country by reversing neo-liberalism, putting people before private profit, investing and expanding social programmes and anti-corruption initiatives, it has swiftly become the dominant political force.
Taking control of national resources has been a key feature of progressive governments across Latin America. In Mexico this has included the strengthening the state-owned energy companies the Federal Electricity Commission and Petróleos Mexicanos, including through introducing the Hydrocarbons Laws that makes it clear Mexico has direct and non-negotiable rights over the hydrocarbons within the country and reins in the activities of foreign mining companies.
Recent years has also seen massive public works programmes including national railway infrastructure, the bringing of services back in-house and the ending outsourcing, and groundbreaking social programmes. This has included payments to support primary school children with a groundbreaking programme to help working women and their children, scholarships for students and free education at all levels and the expansion of public universities, a new ‘NHS’ for Mexico and a new universal pension for women aged 60 to 64 years of age. Crucially, state payments, including pensions, now reach 65 per cent more people than previously making an enormous difference to living standards. Social programmes are regarded as core – not simply an add on – and have been enshrined in the Constitution.
As well as social security payments being expanded the wages of lowest paid have received a significant boost with the largest minimum-wage increase in over forty years which has raised the income of the poorest by 24%. Sheinbaum introduced a mandate that guarantees the minimum wage will increase by more than inflation in future years.
Additional workers’ rights that have been boosted include ending fire-and rehire, recognising the rights of domestic workers, new collective trade union rights and doubling the number of statutory holidays. This sits within a broader framework of advancing the rights; for example, the 2019 Gender Equality Act constitutionally mandates “gender parity in everything” and Sheinbaum created a new Cabinet post, the Secretariat for Women.
Actions have been taken to reform the justice system, with action to combat impunity and corruption alongside guaranteeing universal access to adequate legal representation. This and other programmes led to the reduction in the homicide rate in one year by 32% and significant reductions in kidnappings.
Internationally Mexico has proposed allocating 1% of global military spending to reforestation efforts and advocated for expanding the United Nations Security Council to include seats for Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and small island nations. Mexico has stood up to Trump’s attacks on migrants and Mexico’s sovereignty, supported Palestine’s full membership of the UN and has been firm against US aggression towards Venezuela. As a country that shares a border with the US and seen very much as part of their ‘backyard’ the progressive changes Mexico has undertaken to put people before profit must be defended.
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