Welcome to The Mexpatriate.
On Monday, as the country’s kids shouldered their mochilas and traipsed back to school, Sheinbaum gave her first annual report to the nation at the National Palace.
At the 11-month mark, polls show Sheinbaum’s approval rating ranging from 70% to 80%, surpassing any other recent Mexican president at the same point in his term. Her presentation was detailed, if not original; a pastiche of statistics, plaudits and promises.
A few highlights included:
Homicides dropped 25% between July 2024 and August 2025 (worth noting other crime stats, like extortion, are going in the wrong direction).
Mexico received a record US $34.3 billion in FDI in the first half of the year.
The government increased tax collection 8.5% annually in the first eight months of 2025.
86,000 Mexicans deported from the U.S. have received government assistance.
Sheinbaum did put on her “AMLO Was Right About Everything!” hat, hailing the significant reductions in poverty and inequality since 2018, and “legislative transformations” that have repaired the “damage caused by the neoliberal period.” She also touted the initial phase of her Plan México economic strategy to boost domestic industry and consumption. Her overall assessment is that “we’re doing well, and we’re going to do even better.”
A year ago, Sheinbaum’s sleek silhouette was still a question mark in the national conversation: Would she merely be a puppet of her charismatic mentor, or would she distance herself? Could her cool demeanor command the same popularity as AMLO’s warmth?
Today, it’s safe to say Sheinbaum has kept her campaign trail promise: she has “continued the change,” holding steadfast to AMLO’s policy vision, even in the face of widespread criticism (especially of the judicial reform), while also adding her “sello propio” in security policy and relations with the private sector.
She’s weathered the Trump turbulence with aplomb so far, which has in some ways helped fortify her domestic leadership—though less than you’d expect if you only read the glowing international media coverage of Mexico’s “Trump whisperer” in chief.
According to an Enkoll poll (which puts her overall approval rating at 79%), respondents rated social programs as the most important achievement of her administration, followed by welfare for the elderly and scholarships. Her management of Trump was eighth on the list—though 65% have trust in her ability to handle the bilateral relationship.
And what do Mexicans think is the biggest challenge facing the country?
Insecurity—by a long shot. Para variar.
In today’s edition, I cover the newly sworn-in judiciary, the U.S.-Mexico security “understanding”, the endless rains, and milk theft, exorcisms and rabies in the Odds and Ends section.
Best Frenemies Forever: The news cycle leading up to the Rubio-Sheinbaum meeting on Wednesday went exactly how the U.S. government wanted it. From Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada’s guilty plea and Pam Bondi’s made-for-TV victory speech last week, to Mexican Senator Lilly Téllez calling Sheinbaum and her party “narco-politicians” on Fox News, to the game-changing U.S. strike on an alleged Tren de Aragua drug boat in the Caribbean (killing 11) on Tuesday—Rubio arrived in Mexico City with a strong hand to play.