For better or worse, for followers and detractors, Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s “mañaneras” revolutionized the forms of Mexican politics.
With his daily and early press conferences, the former president set the political agenda, took influence away from the media and connected with a people who now seem to feel part of the political process.
What for some was an exercise in transparency, for others was one of stigmatization and defamation in which lies were repeated.
But now AMLO, as he is known in Mexico, is gone. And a month ago he was replaced by a 62-year-old scientist and former mayor of Mexico City: Claudia Sheinbaum.
Although the new president decided to maintain the “mornings”, during these 30 days she has been adjusting them to her style in further proof that her intention, as she promised during the campaign, is to govern with “continuity and own seal”.
To begin with, they no longer have the same name: now they are the “Mañaneras del Pueblo”. They do not start at the same time, at 7:00 am, but at 7:30 am. They last an average of one hour less per day.
The drawing to assign questions is more orderly and democratic. Until now they are seen, at least on the official YouTube channels, by half of the people. And every day there is a segment to talk about a specific topic: health, history, gender and so on.
The background color also changed: it is no longer dark red, but white. And the logo on the back banner is no longer an illustration of the Mexican heroes, all men, but of “a young Mexican woman, symbol of so many generations of women made invisible by history”as detailed by the Presidency.
Sheinbaum began his mandate with enormous popular support: he won with 60% of the votes, 30 points more than his opponent, and today he has, according to surveys, a 90% positive image.
AMLO, for his part, left power with 70% acceptance.
“Without a doubt, Sheinbaum’s Mañanera is not going to be as decisive as AMLO’s,” says Humberto Beck, a historian and political commentator.
But that does not mean that his government will be more or less successful. It will have, in any case, its style.
question of style
Dalila Sarabia is a reporter for Animal Político, one of the most important media outlets in Mexico. He has been covering these press conferences for years.
For her, there are “very interesting” differences in the way of carrying out “mornings.”
“AMLO always found the moment to launch himself against the opposition, his adversaries, neoliberalism. And Sheinbaum, on the other hand, does not occupy this platform to attack these groups,” he says.
Although she does not stop giving her opinions about others, says the journalist, “her statements are concrete and she does not get hooked, as we say in Mexico.” Sheinbaum does not prolong his argument.
Sarabia adds that the section to talk about fake news remained every Wednesday, but with a difference: “She does not come in to give her opinion or confront the press.”
This seems to reinforce an idea that was said about Sheinbaum since the campaign: that he will be a less confrontational and more conciliatory president than her predecessor.
A month ago, political journalists received a message from the new Presidency communications team asking that questions be less than 5 minutes and that products or efforts not be promoted.
Also, with the new question assignment scheme, it was inferred that the media followers of the ruling party would no longer have priority over the others.
Which reveals another of the facets that have been highlighted about Sheinbaum: that her past as an academic, and her orderly and meticulous personality, will be central elements of her ways of governing.
“Unlike AMLO, Sheinbaum seeks to position specific topics and maintain an order, with the clear purpose of not thinking that this exercise is based on improvisation, but quite the opposite: an order,” says Luis Ángel Hurtado, an expert in political communication.
What it says about the background
AMLO’s morning conferences were much more than a communication tool.
Humberto Beck assures that “AMLO created a model of political communication that ended up being a fundamental pillar of his charisma and authority, and created an institution of direct communication that will not be able to be reversed in Mexican politics, at least in a moment.” generation”.
That is why Sheinbaum, although he does not have the same charisma as AMLO, decided to keep them.
“She doesn’t have that ability to turn a question around and evade the answer. So, She has wanted to compensate with what she does have, which is the technical-scientific vestige“Beck says.
AMLO came to power on his third attempt and as Mexico’s first left-wing president in decades.
He governed for six years without majorities in Congress and with fierce opposition in the courts and the press. He himself said that his six-year term was the symbolic and political foundation of a movement, the Fourth Transformation, that hopes to change Mexico.
Sheinbaum, on the other hand, comes to power with large majorities and with the opposition divided.
Although being the first woman, her presidency is full of symbolism, her project seems to be more about management than values.
This is noticeable in the “mornings”: While he dedicated them to politics, she can dedicate them to informing, delegating, ordering.
Not in vain, another difference is that now the presentations of the secretaries, congressmen or experts invited to the press conference have more prominence.
“AMLO was the voice of the party, the movement and the country,” says Beck. “And she is not: she is one of several relevant voices, including, for example, those of the party’s parliamentary coordinators.”
The “mañaneras”, then, not only reflect the differences in style between Sheinbaum and AMLO: they also reflect a different political moment for which different presidents and projects are needed.
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