Sheinbaum: the search for her own power

Antonio Ocaranza Fernández

Political history is full of figures who inherit the presidential seat from a charismatic leader. These transitions are often treacherous: comparisons are inevitable, the successor lacks the mystique of their predecessor, and relatives or collaborators emerge who consider themselves the true heirs and are willing to dispute control. From the opposition, everyone calls for a show of force and a break with the past.

Former President López Obrador gave President Claudia Sheinbaum the “baton of command” of his movement to continue his “fourth transformation.” For many, there is a relationship of dependency, but Sheinbaum undoubtedly intends to take advantage of every opportunity to build her own power base, not necessarily to oppose López Obrador or distance herself, as many would like, but to expand her room for maneuver and ensure the country’s governance.

Sheinbaum’s challenge is to fulfill the mandate of the movement she inherited with her own resources and stamp. The six years of her administration give her enough time to build leadership and a personal project based on five pillars: balancing continuity and rupture; creating her own base of power and loyalties; taking advantage of windows of opportunity; building legitimacy through results or control; and rewriting the narrative.

1. Balance between continuity and rupture. The president maintains López Obrador’s symbols and banners to avoid immediate rejection. Her conferences and speeches are full of recognition for the former president, his vision of Mexico, his investments in major projects, his weakening of the powers that be, his social programs, his discourse of austerity and the fight against corruption, and his struggle against neoliberalism—presented as the source of all the evils that have held back Mexico’s well-being.
2. Creating her own base. Sheinbaum has expanded programs aimed at women between the ages of 60 and 64 and is integrating drivers and delivery workers from digital platforms into the social security system. She also hopes to generate jobs through investments in trains, development hubs, and actions under Plan Mexico. The president wants millions of people to attribute their well-being directly to her administration. Starting with the 2026 state elections, and especially with the formation of a new Chamber of Deputies in the 2027 elections, Sheinbaum will be able to open up new spaces to build a loyal political group and dispense with figures who do not contribute to it.
3. Taking advantage of the window of opportunity. Sheinbaum can transform tragedies, crises, and scandals into decisive reforms. She is concerned about the excesses of figures such as Adán Augusto López, Ricardo Monreal, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, and Andy López Beltrán, who damage her party, Morena, but are also useful material for eliminating dead weight. She does not destroy these characters, but she lets public opinion wear them down, turn them into a political liability, and force them to seek her support or accept a dignified retirement. She watches as they self-destruct, who criticizes them, who supports them, who defends them, and how the power groups realign themselves.
4. Legitimacy through results or control. Legitimacy is based on tangible achievements. Economic management, job creation, inflation control, and handling of the relationship with President Trump have strengthened her authority. National and international recognition for the way she has managed the relationship with the United States, in difficult circumstances, is to her credit and explains her high popularity ratings. 
5. Rewriting the narrative. Sheinbaum is managing to associate her name with specific achievements, displacing her predecessor as the sole reference point. She does so prudently: she does not blame López Obrador for the security disaster or the controversial decisions that are now putting pressure on Mexico from Washington. She knows that, when the time comes, she will be able to distance herself from controversial policies if this gives her greater political capital.

Taking power after a charismatic leader like López Obrador implies a fork in the road: either you live in his shadow, or you transcend it. If Sheinbaum takes refuge in the protective aura of her predecessor, she will be devoured by her adversaries. Her success will depend on whether she can subordinate the old operators of López Obradorism, articulate her own social base, and construct a narrative that transcends it. But if, as she has done so far, she assumes leadership with her own project, she has five years to take control of the countless threads of presidential power and redefine the course of her movement. If she succeeds, she will have demonstrated that, even in a movement shaped by a dominant leader, a new center of gravity can be imposed.