Mrs. Sheinbaum's happy country

Guadalajara (Mexico)Why on earth is there such a sense of optimism in Guadalajara and Mexico? With limited public transportation, Guadalajara's traffic is chaotic. I ask a resident of Guadalajara about its dilapidated urban landscape, and they respond ironically, "Urban planning? What exactly do you mean?" The standard of living is low. Social problems are glaringly obvious. Cartel violence remains a menacing scourge. And yet... there's a palpable sense of hopeful optimism. What's going on? It can't be solely due to the International Book Fair (FIL), right?

Consuelo, who cleans rooms, didn't vote for Claudia Sheinbaum, but she's happy that a woman is president of Mexico for the first time. She has a daughter who studied and works at a bank and a 14-year-old grandson. With just a quick glance, she guesses my age and hopes I'll soon have grandchildren too, "God willing," she says. I don't know if my children are up for it... She is a hardworking, restless woman: "Are you from Barcelona, you say? This is so far away! Is Barcelona in Spain?" she asks, without any ulterior motives. "More or less," I reply. But I inform her that we speak another language, "like you." But she doesn't speak Nahuatl (there are five million Mexicans who are bilingual in Nahuatl and Spanish). She's from the state of Guerrero, in the south, one of the 32 that make up the country. Sheinbaum and the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) won in almost all of them, in a landslide victory.

In a world veering toward the far right, Mexico is an oasis. Like Mamdani in New York. Sheinbaum is also a social democrat: she talks about public education, a pension for women over 60 (Consuelo doesn't know it, but she'll be eligible; perhaps then she'll vote for her), strengthening public transportation, fighting for the environment, helping small local producers, but also combating crime and drugs. The cartels never rest, neither the Sinaloa nor the Jalisco New Generation, nor the Guadalajara cartel. It's not talked about much; they don't want it to be.

Just four days ago, mentioning social democracy was something... boomers Nostalgic: it provoked scornful laughter from both the right and the left. Now, suddenly, it's back on the agenda. Best not to get too carried away. Everything is fleeting. But there's optimism in Guadalajara. Urbanistically speaking, the city is a bit far west. They recommend not walking alone in the street. Naturally, that's the first thing I did. During the day, no problem. At night, it depends on the shots of tequila or margaritas you've had. I've been social-democratic, that is, moderate and social. Good. Following the advice of a "Catalan sage" like the one from García Márquez's Macondo, but this one Mexican, José María Murià, I've been drinking "100% agave tequila weber azul." It goes down very well, no hangover. In fact, they say, they say, they say it has curative and preventative properties, especially against the flu (maybe also against Covid), particularly if you drink it after sucking on a Mexican lime (which has a lot of vitamin C) with salt. Done!

Sheinbaum hasn't backed down in front of Trump. Let's see how long she can hold her own, both on the issue of migrants and on the drug cartels. When someone stands up to him, Trump tends to respect them, hence the failure of European diplomacy. From the perspective of the macho American, Sheinbaum's strengths include being American and strong, and coming from a Jewish family; her weaknesses include being a scientist and academic, a product of the May '68 generation: her parents were active in all the progressive causes. woke, What would the MAGA say? She wants to make Mexico strong again. And strong, in her case, means a country for everyone. For now, the newspapers explain that in the last seven years, 19 million Mexicans have been lifted out of poverty and illiteracy has been eradicated. The books at the Guadalajara International Book Fair must have helped with that. We wealthy Europeans are discouraged and disoriented; Mexicans, rich and poor, are full of hope. "Life is good in Guadalajara," Consuelo assures me.

Also in Guadalajara, a woman, Verónica Delgadillo García, of the Citizens' Movement, is in charge. At the state level, she's in the opposition and is receiving siren calls from the right. A few years ago, the Movement had a name that sounds familiar in Catalonia: Convergence... Anyway. But Delgadillo belongs to the left wing of a party that, on paper, declares itself social democratic: proponents of administrative decentralization (more autonomy for states and municipalities), progressive taxation, a guaranteed minimum income, strengthening judicial independence, respect for indigenous minorities, and policies in favor of women and the environment. If Claudia Sheinbaum is the daughter of left-wing teachers, Verónica Delgadillo is the daughter of businesspeople. A battle between left-wing and not-so-left-wing social democrats? This isn't bad at all. Beautiful MexicoNor this Guadalajara of books.