After a full year in office, Mexico’s first woman president in 200 years, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, is continuing the work of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), on the nation’s “Fourth Transformation.” This ambitious national mission, “Bienestar” (well-being), is a profound shift toward prioritizing public welfare and social justice. Since 2018, these efforts have helped lift 21 million people out of poverty—13 million during AMLO’s six-year term and an additional 8 million in Sheinbaum’s term so far. 

Mexico’s fourth transformation draws on its deep historical roots from Mayan, Aztec, and Olmec civilizations. This transformation includes plans for industrial hubs that resemble a Chinese model, featuring accessible public housing to connect employees to their workplaces, as well as transportation and social amenities. Fifteen industrial hubs have been selected, attracting investment from around the world, positioning Mexico just behind Brazil, the US, and Canada in terms of economic potential in the Americas. 

Claudia Sheinbaum’s Background and Vision

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, who comes from a Jewish background with parents who fled the Holocaust, continues to receive an 80 percent approval rating in Mexico. Her parents, both scientists, introduced her to social justice issues, particularly during the 1968 revolts at the Autonomous University of Mexico and among organized labor and agricultural sectors, which were protesting against low wages and the repression of free speech. 

Drawing inspiration from Mexico’s historical struggles for independence and social justice—marked by three previous transformations—Sheinbaum campaigned as the first woman president in 200 years, on a platform of reform and revolution, and is now continuing her predecessor’s work on Mexico’s “Fourth Transformation.” She won the 2024 presidential election with 65 percent of the vote across almost all 33 states. Out of 135 million eligible voters, 35 million cast their ballots. 

The Morena party, which supports her, also won a significant number of governorships, as many candidates were aligned with López Obrador’s mission and infrastructure megaprojects. Since her inauguration, Sheinbaum continues to travel across the country to engage with residents about her “Bienestar” priorities and people’s budget allocations, often to inaugurate a hospital, school, or significant civic project. In her first half year, she has identified the Yucatan, home to many Indigenous peoples, as a priority for Bienestar benefits.

The Bienestar Program: A Mission for the People

The nationwide Bienestar Program is at the heart of Mexico’s recent social progress. This initiative provides direct economic assistance to the most vulnerable populations, backed by the Bank of Mexico, the government-owned Bienestar Bank, and other financial institutions.

The Bienestar Program provides domestic work benefits for women—a first in North America. Women aged 60 to 65 receive a monthly stipend for their contributions to managing family life over the years, which is added to their pensions. Currently, over a million women aged 64 and 65 are beneficiaries of this program. This is a strong start for a program that will hopefully expand to support all Mexican women. The program also offers substantial support to individuals with disabilities, older adults, women heads of households, and students through scholarships, which enable all elementary and high school students to attend for free.

The Bienestar Program also includes housing, providing 1.2 million low-income homes through collaborations with the housing sector. It offers free units or long-term repayment plans via the National Housing Commission and INFONAVIT, the state-owned real estate department for low-income housing.

Accomplishments in New Infrastructure and Public Works

Sheinbaum’s administration, building on the social foundation laid by AMLO, is committed to massive public works projects designed to improve living standards and create economic opportunities through the promise of millions of jobs.

Sheinbaum’s legacy of improved public works has roots beyond her presidency. During her tenure as Environmental Secretary of Mexico, she addressed pollution in the city by implementing extensive sanitary infrastructure. This includes the construction of cable cars for transportation and the development of water piping systems throughout the country, replacing previously non-existent or dilapidated systems and cleaning up polluted lagoons and channels.

Under Sheinbaum’s leadership, Pemex, Mexico’s national energy firm, which was once privatized, has recovered from debt and is now funding public works projects as part of a shift away from neoliberal policies. Pemex recently distributed free green fertilizer to all workers in Mexico’s agricultural sector.

Sheinbaum is overseeing significant investment in new state-of-the-art railroads and bus systems to improve public mobility. After many years of international negotiations, Mexico is constructing a railroad that will pass through Belize and Guatemala, with plans to extend to Honduras. This project aims to enhance trade and establish a security agreement among these countries for the first time, ultimately improving the economies of Central America. The railroad is an extension of the fast train, Tren Maya, which will link Central America to North America. It will connect newly built ports in Veracruz on the Atlantic and Salina Cruz on the Pacific, forming an Interoceanic Corridor that holds great promise for trade routes to Asia, Africa, and both North and South America.

Additionally, Sheinbaum continues to prioritize the creation and maintenance of Mexico’s world-class parks, which attract millions of visitors, workers, and residents to a thriving arts scene and culturally rich environment, complete with nature and history museums and statues. Despite a dangerous travel advisory label from the US, Mexico remains the sixth most popular tourist destination in the world.

This article is the first in a series of upcoming articles about Mexico by Ellen Mass. Stay tuned for additional articles in future eNews issues. To learn more about Mexico and stay updated on Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, visit Mexico News Daily for her daily press conferences featuring Mexican journalists and engaged visitors. 

Sources and Further Learning:

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo daily LIVE news channel-YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@ClaudiaSheinbaumP

Tri-Continental: https://thetricontinental.org/dossier/

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Sheinbaum

BIO from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claudia-Sheinbaum

Approval tracker: https://www.as-coa.org/articles/approval-tracker-mexicos-president-claudia-sheinbaum

Tri-Continental Press: Dossier: September 9, 2025: https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-mexico-fourth-transformation/

New Left Review: Tony Wood: https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii147/articles/tony-wood-mexico-in-flux

Independence Day celebrations led by Claudia: https://mexiconewsdaily.com/?utm_source=newsletter_paid

Gobernar con ojos de mujer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ifryQY5fd0

Jeffrey Sachs describes Mexican democracy with Justice, September 17, 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvnLGjFFNP4

Fresno Community Alliance articles by WILPF member Leni Villagomez Reeves:  

https://fresnoalliance.com/u-s-government-repeatedly-attacks-mexican-americans/

https://fresnoalliance.com/mexico-court-reform/

https://fresnoalliance.com/u-s-threats-and-attacks-in-latin-america/