Border residents express hopes and doubts as Claudia Sheinbaum takes control of México

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Elhiu Ramírez has seen good things happen in Mexico in recent years. His grandmother received monthly benefits, and some of his former high school classmates in Juarez received college scholarships.

The US-born resident of Juárez thanks President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for this. He hopes his hand-picked successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, will expand such social programs as she takes the oath of office Tuesday as Mexico’s first female president.

“Hopefully she will continue to help people as much as she can,” said Ramírez, a University of Texas at El Paso graduate who commutes daily across the U.S.-Mexico border. He noted that 5 million Mexicans emerged from extreme poverty under AMLO, the acronym for the outgoing president.

Roberto Levario, another American across the border, is not so excited. He says there is still much to be done, not only in public safety – someone is killed in Juárez every eight hours – but also in fixing bad streets and implementing a coherent immigration policy.

“A lot of people come to Juárez and stay. There are people from Venezuela who beg and commit crimes. Migration affects both sides of the border, and walls don’t work,” said the resident of McNary, Texas, who retreated to Mexico to live with his cousins.

The historic changing of the guard south of the border is raising strong feelings among border residents and the business community.

Industry leaders like Jerry Pacheco, president and CEO of the Border Industrial Association, recognize that there are differing perspectives on the issue, and that decisions made in Mexico City carry enormous weight on the finances of U.S. companies in border states.

Thousands of trucks loaded with assembled goods enter the US every day in Mexico, a clear indication of the important role the US plays as a beneficiary in this trade relationship. This influx of goods not only funds jobs in the trucking, warehousing and logistics industries, but also creates opportunities for managers and engineers north of the border.

“The border is important for Mexico in terms of production. We are neighbors of Juárez, one of the largest manufacturing bases in Mexico. I think (the border) will continue to be a priority,” he said. “We are confident (Sheinbaum) is aware of the importance of bringing more infrastructure to the border and modernizing the ports of entry. That is the key to keeping U.S.-Mexico trade high and even raising the bar: having strong, modernized commercial gateways.”

The two countries must continue to tackle thorny issues next year, such as the flow of third-country migrants entering Mexico and showing up at the U.S. border by the millions over the past five years. And Mexican drug cartels continue to shamelessly send deadly fentanyl and tons of other illegal drugs north of the border.

“We are excited because the inauguration of a new president in Mexico allows us to start anew,” Pacheco said. “If we need to press a reset button on controversial issues, we can press that button.”

In two years, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has allowed U.S. companies to access Mexican labor and relocate their operations, will be revised. Whether Sheinbaum will use that as leverage to avert pressure on migration and drugs remains to be seen.

“I think she will support the USMCA because it works. It has never not worked. Two years ago, México became the largest trading partner of the United States, and an important part of that is the USMCA,” said Pacheco.
In Juárez, high expectations collide with skepticism at the start of Claudia Sheinbaum’s six-year mandate.

“We would like to see change. Many things are still unresolved,” said Juárez resident Adolfo Gaytan. “The streets are in bad condition and we are flooded. This damages our vehicles and the repair costs are high. Everything is precious and we can’t make ends meet.”

Juárez Mayor Cruz Pérez Cuéllar said López Obrador has changed Mexican politics and focused on helping people living in poverty. Six years ago, more than 50 million people lived in poverty in Mexico; now it has about 45 million.

AMLO’s daily social media news conferences kept him constantly in the public eye, served as a platform to defend (or attack) his critics, and provided him with at least some accountability.

“He created a new way of doing politics,” Pérez Cuéllar said on Monday. “He helped those who needed it most. In Juárez we are grateful to AMLO for lower taxes and a higher minimum wage than in the rest of the country. We have a new Social Security Institute hospital; many people in Juárez received stipends.”

Pérez Cuéllar has met Sheinbaum, his colleague from the MORENA party, and is convinced that she is ready to lead one of Latin America’s largest democracies.

Brenda Chávez, a Juárez resident who shops in El Paso, expressed her unconditional support Monday for Claudia Sheinbaum, who is being sworn in as Mexico’s first female president.

“She is very prepared. She is a woman who is deeply concerned with things. AMLO was more (visceral). Claudia is more analytical and it is perfect to enter the second phase of the transformation of this country,” said the mayor. “She will expand existing programs, not create new ones. I think she will be a great president.”

Brenda Chávez, a Juárez resident who went shopping in El Paso on Monday, strongly supports her new president.

“She will show you that women can do the work and so much more. I hope she will show them all that she will leave no doubt that she will get the job done,” she said.