Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed a packed stadium in Hermosillo over the weekend, as part of a cross-country “national accountability” tour as she nears a year in office.
People came from all over the state of Sonora to watch Sheinbaum’s Saturday address in the capital city. She touted her administration’s achievements since her inauguration in October and unveiled a plan to support the state’s ranchers.
“We’re doing well, and we will do better,” Sheinbaum told the crowd.
Sheinbaum’s plan to support Sonora’s ranching sector comes after the Mexico-U.S. border has remained closed to cattle for months, as the United States seeks to protect against the northward spread of the New World screwworm parasite. The flesh-eating fly larva burrows into the flesh of warm-blooded animals and can be deadly.
Sheinbaum called the closure “unjust”: the pest has not been reported in Sonora or other Mexican states on the border. The first case in Mexico was reported late last year in the south of the country near the Guatemala border. Since then, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has intermittently opened and closed the border. The current closure has been in place since May.
Live cattle are one of the top exports from Sonora to Arizona and totaled nearly $400 million last year, according to the University of Arizona.
As part of her plan to help Sonoran farmers now left without that revenue stream, Sheinbaum announced a more than $45 million investment into Sonora’s ranching industry. The initiative will include a low-interest credit fund for ranchers, as well as a new livestock center in the state.
During her first year in office, Sheinbaum has worked to fend off tariffs from the Trump administration, while also showing the Mexican people she will defend the country’s sovereignty. President Donald Trump has suggested he would deploy U.S. military firepower in Mexico to fight the cartels.
Last week, after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the two countries announced a framework for closer cooperation on security issues. Sheinbaum has taken a tougher approach on her country’s drug cartels than her predecessor, but has long said she won’t support U.S. military strikes without Mexican collaboration and buy-in.
“We are a government of the people, by the people and for the people of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said in Hermosillo.
Sheinbaum’s predecessor and political mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, mobilized a populist left-leaning political base to win the presidency in 2018. Sheinbaum has so far managed to hold on to that base and has enjoyed approval ratings above 70% in most polls.
The crowd gathered in Hermosillo on Saturday came from all over Sonora. América Nuñez González and her friends from university came from Puerto Peñasco. She says they've enjoyed scholarships and support from the government during their time studying.
“I think everything she says is true, and that many people have benefited from this government,” Nuñez González.
Yazmín Medina is from Hermosillo and attended the rally with her aunt to represent the N’dee/N’nee/Ndé nation, commonly known as Apaches. Medina said she appreciated Sheinbaum’s recognition of Sonora’s indigenous groups in her speech.
“She has been helping a lot, she does everything for the people,” Medina added.
