MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s new President Claudia Sheinbaum will start her day Wednesday just as her political mentor, ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, began most of his: with an early morning news conference from the National Palace.
How the briefings, known in Mexico as mañaneras, will proceed remains to be seen. Under López Obrador they were marathon affairs, with popular dialogues, verbal jousts with the press and often long history lessons from the charismatic and indefatigable López Obrador. His oratorial skills turned his briefings into a powerful political weapon.
Analysts agree that Sheinbaum will try to create her own personal brand, but she will inevitably be compared to the man who set the standard.
It’s no surprise that Sheinbaum decided to continue her mentor’s successful formula; she has promised to continue pretty much everything he did. She will hope to set the daily agenda of the press, just as López Obrador did during his presidency.
After her election victory on June 2, the former mayor of Mexico City began holding afternoon press conferences that wrapped up within half an hour. Sheinbaum opened with announcements and then took questions from reporters.
She hasn’t shared any details about what her mañaneras will be like, but it’s expected that there will be something shorter that better suits her data-oriented personality.
During his presidency, which ended Monday, the 70-year-old López Obrador held daily conferences Monday through Friday. The briefings lasted between two and three hours, after which he answered questions from journalists, many of whom were pro-government. He also regularly used the platform to bash critical media and his opponents.
In doing so, he achieved the strategic goal of “winning the battle for control over reality,” says communications consultant Luis Antonio Espino in his book “López Obrador: The Power of Populist Discourse.”
But Sheinbaum, a 62-year-old scientist-turned-politician, has a different style.
“As a communicator she is different,” said Roy Campos, president of the polling firm Consulta-Mitofsky. He said Sheinbaum has a “spare” speaking style. She broadcasts an image of “a college professor trying to demonstrate seriousness and truth through science,” he added.
That is a far cry from the popular López Obrador. The former president spoke for hours, using a lot of colloquial language, and he enjoyed publicly confronting his opponents. According to Espino, the charismatic former president used his speeches to “create emotional bonds to achieve his true goal.”
Thanks to his powerful speeches, López Obrador managed to leave office with an approval rating still above 60%. His legacy makes him one of Mexico’s most popular presidents in recent history.
Now the question arises whether Sheinbaum will be able to attract attention and win the empathy that López Obrador has consolidated during his six-year term.
Campos said it all depends on how she comes across in front of the cameras.
“She will try to create the empathy that López Obrador created,” he said. “We’ll see if this daily presence will give her control over the press agenda or popularity.”
