What Claudia Sheinbaum’s historic election win means for U.S.-Mexico relations

Geoff Bennett:

Mexico made history yesterday, electing its first female president and first president of Jewish heritage.

Claudia Sheinbaum won in a landslide, with more than 58 percent of the vote. She will face many challenges as president, including security, organized crime, immigration, and the continuing, at times tense, relationship with the U.S.

Pamela Starr is a professor at the University of Southern California, and a senior adviser at Monarch Global Strategies. That's a business consultancy focused on Mexico and Latin America.

Thanks so much for being with us.

Pamela Starr, University of Southern California: It's a pleasure to be with you this evening.

Geoff Bennett:

So how do you view the significance of this moment, Mexico electing its first female president?

Pamela Starr:

I think it's enormously significant, especially for young women who are of Mexican heritage or living in Mexico.

It's extraordinarily important to see someone in a position of importance that is the same gender of you. But at the same time, I don't suspect that Claudia Sheinbaum will be a feminist president, although she does self-identify as a feminist.

She's a traditional leftist. And by that, I mean, she focuses on lifting up all of those who are in this lower socioeconomic strata and not focusing on individual minorities in society, or, in this case, women, who are the largest majority in Mexico, the largest segment of the population.

I do, however, think she's going to put a little more attention into violence against women, which Lopez Obrador didn't, the former president didn't give much attention to, and potentially to things like day care and such.

Geoff Bennett:

Well, as we said, she won with a sweeping mandate, more than 58 percent of the vote. Why was she so successful? What was it about her, her background, her overall approach that seemed to resonate with the Mexican voting public?

Pamela Starr:

More than her, it's what she stands for.

She was chosen by Lopez Obrador, handpicked to be his successor. The campaign was run as a continuation of Lopez Obrador's presidency. As she said, she's going to build the second level on the transformation of Mexico that Lopez Obrador initiated. So it wasn't so much a vote for Claudia Sheinbaum as a vote for continuity in Mexican politics.

Geoff Bennett:

Let's return to the issue of violence, because these elections in Mexico have been historic for another reason. They have been the most violent. In the run-up to the elections, more than 30 candidates were assassinated. Mexico has one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

What is she aiming to do to address it?

Pamela Starr:

Her overall proposal is try to adapt the strategies she implemented in Mexico City, which did significantly reduce crime and violence in the city, to a national situation.

In Mexico City, she increased the wages and working conditions for the police. She used greater intelligence in police activities, and she more very carefully collaborated or guaranteed collaboration between law enforcement and the attorney general's office. She will try to do something similar at the federal level.

That said, she's not going to return to civilian policing with regard to federal criminal problems, like organized crime. She's going to rely on the militarized National Guard, although she is going to try to expand its size, increase working conditions and wages, and increase their use of intelligence and collaboration with the attorney general's office.

Geoff Bennett:

What about immigration, which is a major issue in this election? How does she plan to coordinate with the U.S., and has she articulated a plan for how to deal with the migrants who make their way through Mexico toward the U.S.?

Pamela Starr:

She didn't talk about — much about foreign policy in the campaign.

Indeed, there was a debate segment that was focused on foreign policy, and really none of the candidates spoke a great deal about foreign policy.

In terms of migration, I suspect she will continue Lopez Obrador's strategy of trying to cooperate with the United States while protecting Mexican sovereignty, knowing that cooperating with the United States generates the goodwill of the U.S. administration, and gives Mexico more freedom of action areas of greater importance to Mexico like domestic politics.

Geoff Bennett:

Pamela Starr, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate your insights.

Pamela Starr:

It was my pleasure.