In Sync With AMLO, Mexico Frontrunner Proposes Boosting Welfare

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(Bloomberg) — Mexico’s presidential candidate for the ruling Morena party Claudia Sheinbaum launched her campaign with a series of proposals to build out the welfare programs that underpin the popularity of the current president, pitching herself as someone who would build on his legacy.

She vowed to make sure that a cash-transfer program for the elderly would grow at least in line with inflation, plus proposed her own aid plan for women and school kids at the launch of her campaign in Mexico City’s main square. The pledges were among the hundred she made in line with the vision of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose popularity is helping her in the polls and will likely propel her to a win in the June election.

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The expansion of welfare came along with a pledge that like AMLO, as the president is known, she would maintain a “reasonable” debt-to-GDP ratio. Sheinbaum said that her team had already done the calculations to determine they could pay for what she promised in the speech. She suggested minimum wage would rise around 11% per year — with the agreement of the business sector — and the state’s assistance to each individual would grow to keep up with inflation.

“In six years, we’ve done so much. But there’s more to do,” said Sheinbaum at the event. “We will have to together protect the legacy of the man who is now in the National Palace, who has changed the history of our country. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has shown us how not to fall in the face of adversity, how not to kneel to the power of money.”

Read More: AMLO’s Influence Looms Over Kickoff of Campaign to Replace Him

The former Mexico City mayor also promised to build out renewable energy projects, including green hydrogen and rooftop solar energy, and to address the country’s water shortages. Her promises were notably lacking the huge infrastructure projects, including a refinery and five-state train, that Lopez Obrador has made hallmarks of his presidency. Sheinbaum has a PhD in energy engineering and had an academic career before focusing on politics.

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Nevertheless, she promised she would continue and consolidate the projects he had started, including a land-and-rail route that will transport cargo in the south and a state airline running domestic flights. She listed highway projects and port improvements the government would take on across the country, picking back up on the smaller kinds of public works that were pushed aside during the AMLO administration’s spending redistribution.

Supporters with the party’s maroon-colored hats filled the capital’s iconic Zocalo square carrying flags and banners with slogans backing Sheinbaum, as brass bands and drummers adding cheer and noise to the raucous affair. One fan carried a piñata in Sheinbaum’s image, an echo of the fandom that has surrounded Lopez Obrador. 

“It’s women’s turn and that’s why we’re here supporting her,” said Ana Burgos, 45, who had traveled from the city of Cuernavaca to attend the event. “I’m convinced by her preparation, her education, and the projects that she has for the future.”

Other points that Sheinbaum mentioned during her campaign speech included:

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Spending and Welfare

• Maintain the autonomy of the country’s central bank, known as Banxico
• Continue the fight against tax evasion, especially for large taxpayers
• Expand the reach of the public health system, programs for pregnant women
• Expand programs to prevent addictions, chronic health problems

Energy and Commodities

• Continue strengthening state-owned Pemex and utility CFE, “leaving the days of privatizations in the past”
• Increase production of renewable energy including through solar and geothermal plants, hydroelectric dams, green hydrogen, and solar panels in homes and businesses
• Promote petrochemical and fertilizer production
• Review mining concessions bearing in mind the approval of local population; stop giving concessions for open-pit mining
• Guarantee the country’s self-sufficiency in GMO-free white corn
• Boost rice production in Campeche state due to abundance of water

Infrastructure and Other

• Strengthen coordination with the United States to broaden and improve border crossings
• Establish a single term limit for all elected positions starting in 2030
• Consolidate AMLO’s key programs, from the Maya Train and the AIFA airport, to modernizing the country’s refineries
• Build strategic works for water supply, including in drought-struck areas around the capital
• Deepen the government’s security strategy, with the help of the national guard and state police

—With assistance from Alex Vasquez.

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