Sheinbaum Celebrates Handling of Trump Tension

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum celebrated her government's handling of its tumultuous relations with the Trump administration, progressive gains, and contentious judicial reforms in her first state of the nation address on Monday. "Things are going well, and they're only going to get better," she promised. Sheinbaum, who is nearing the end of her first year in office, left out some of the major problems still simmering in Mexico, the AP reports, including ongoing cartel violence and democratic concerns over wider concentration of executive power. The breakdown:

• Popularity: Mexico's first female president took office in October and has led the Latin American nation of 131 million at a time of radical global shifts. Despite that, the 63-year-old progressive leader has enjoyed soaring approval rates between 70% and 80% in Mexican polls.
• Challenges: Chief among Sheinbaum's challenges has been navigating Mexico's inextricable political and economic relationship with the US as President Trump has doled out tariffs globally and pressured allies into making concessions.
• Tariffs: Sheinbaum has been able to dodge the brunt of Trump's tariffs by going after Mexican cartels and their fentanyl production more aggressively than her predecessor. In recent months, the government has delivered dozens of cartel figures long wanted by US authorities to the Trump administration. At the same time, her administration has insisted that the Trump administration respect Mexican sovereignty, rejecting talk of US military action against cartels in Mexican territory. "Under no circumstance will we accept interventions, interference, or any other act from abroad that is detrimental to the integrity, independence, and sovereignty of the country," she said.

• Next steps: The president said the two nations are close to agreeing on a framework for the trade agreement, per Axios. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is to visit this week. "We have made it clear that the basis of this understanding is shared responsibility, mutual trust, respect for sovereignty and territoriality, and cooperation without subordination," Sheinbaum said.
• At home: The speech highlighted a slate of social programs and construction projects launched by her predecessor and continued by her administration. Government data released earlier this month showed that more than 8.3 million people in Mexico were pulled out of poverty between 2022 and 2024, something experts said was due in large part to social programs and the government raising the minimum wage. "This is the most ambitious social plan in Mexico's history," Sheinbaum said.