Claudia Sheinbaum’s first year as Mexico’s president has been anything but routine. When she took office on October 1, 2024, she not only became the nation’s first female president but also inherited a country at a political and social crossroads. Sheinbaum, a scientist by training and a longtime member of the ruling MORENA party, arrived with a promise to continue the so-called “Fourth Transformation”—a sweeping reform agenda launched by her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Yet, as her administration marks its first anniversary, the question on many minds is: how much has truly changed, and at what cost?
According to her first annual report, presented on September 1, 2025, Sheinbaum’s government has prioritized the expansion of social programs and a significant increase in the minimum wage. These efforts, she argued, have contributed to progress in poverty reduction—a perennial challenge in Mexico. But the report also revealed a complex security landscape. While intentional homicides reportedly fell by 25.3% between September 2024 and July 2025, regions like Sinaloa remain plagued by violence, and the number of disappearances continues to rise. Extortion, too, has become more widespread, underscoring the persistent dangers faced by ordinary Mexicans.
Sheinbaum’s negotiating style with the United States, particularly under President Donald Trump, has been closely watched. As reported by multiple outlets, her approach is grounded in four principles: shared responsibility, mutual trust, coordination without subordination, and respect for sovereignty. This framework has guided direct talks at the highest levels—a necessity, given the tumultuous changes in government across North America from October 2024 to June 2025. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized its renewed commitment to protecting Mexican communities abroad and deepening regional economic and security cooperation.
After the U.S. presidential election in November 2024, Sheinbaum and Trump held eight high-level talks. These meetings, according to official sources, strengthened bilateral trust and enabled progress on issues like migration, security, and trade. In February 2025, the First Binational High-Level Meeting on Security convened in Washington, bringing together foreign ministers and security cabinets from both countries for three rounds of talks and a strategic meeting. The stakes were high: the flow of synthetic drugs and arms trafficking demanded urgent, coordinated action.
Yet the Sheinbaum administration’s relationship with the United States has been fraught with tension. Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025 brought renewed pressure on Mexico, ranging from threats of tariffs to the specter of U.S. military action against Mexican criminal organizations. In August 2025, Trump directed the U.S. Department of Defense to target certain Latin American criminal groups labeled as “terrorists”—a category that included several Mexican cartels. The seriousness of these threats became undeniable when, on September 2, U.S. forces sank a boat off Venezuela’s coast, killing 11 people in an anti-drug operation. The next day, Mexico and the U.S. announced that security cooperation would continue through a high-level working group, a move aimed at deescalating tensions while maintaining dialogue.
Mexico’s response to U.S. pressure was swift and, at times, controversial. Sheinbaum’s government deployed thousands of additional military personnel to the U.S. border and transferred dozens of Mexican nationals sought by U.S. authorities—often outside the established legal framework for extradition. Efforts were also made to demonstrate increased seizures of fentanyl, a key concern for U.S. officials. Meanwhile, Mexico continued to play the role of a “vertical wall” on immigration, ramping up detentions and accepting the return of non-Mexican migrants from the U.S. under various mechanisms. These actions, while intended to avoid harsher measures like tariffs or military incursions, have drawn criticism from human rights advocates and civil society groups.
Domestically, Sheinbaum’s administration has been marked by both continuity and controversy. One of the most contentious issues has been the reform of Mexico’s judiciary. Following López Obrador’s push for judicial elections—where all judges in the country’s judicial branches would be chosen by popular vote—the first such elections were held in June 2025. The process was marred by irregularities, including the widespread distribution of “accordions” (voting guides) that effectively predetermined the outcome. The 16 individuals elected to the Supreme Court and other key judicial bodies matched those promoted by the ruling party. Despite national and international concerns about the implications for judicial independence, Sheinbaum declared the elections a resounding success, famously stating that Mexico is now “the most democratic country in the world.”
Another area of concern has been the growing role of the military in civilian affairs. In 2024, a constitutional reform promoted by López Obrador—and later enacted under Sheinbaum—officially incorporated the National Guard into the Ministry of Defense, making it a branch of the armed forces. Sheinbaum also championed new legislation granting security institutions, both civilian and military, real-time access to personal data held by public and private entities. In a country already notorious for state surveillance of activists and journalists, these changes have raised fears of unchecked state espionage.
Sheinbaum’s presidency was hailed as the dawn of the “era of women.” She quickly secured constitutional reforms guaranteeing women’s substantive equality and elevated the government’s women’s office to ministerial status, creating the Ministry of Women. However, the 2025 federal budget failed to allocate sufficient funding to bridge gender gaps and promote equality, a shortcoming highlighted by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in its July 2025 recommendations. Persistent issues—from violence against women and girls to gender-based discrimination and inadequate access to justice—remain unresolved. Civil society and international observers continue to press the government for more transformative action.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking challenge facing Sheinbaum’s government is the crisis of disappearances. More than 133,000 people are currently missing in Mexico, and the number continues to climb. The government’s main response in 2025 was the creation of a Unified Identity Platform, a step widely viewed as insufficient. In August, the head of the National Search Commission resigned amid criticism, and in September, Martha Lidia Pérez Gumecindo—a former special prosecutor for disappearances—was appointed as her successor. The families of the disappeared persist in their search, often at great personal risk; 12 family searchers have been killed in the past five years. The Ayotzinapa case, now in its eleventh year, remains unresolved, with families expressing disappointment after a meeting with Sheinbaum on September 4.
On the world stage, Sheinbaum has sought to bolster Mexico’s presence. She participated in the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the 9th CELAC Summit in Tegucigalpa, and the 51st G7 Summit in Calgary, presenting innovative proposals and consolidating Mexico’s leadership in regional and global affairs.
Sheinbaum’s first year in office has been a study in contrasts: bold promises of transformation alongside persistent challenges and new controversies. As Mexico looks ahead, the true test will be whether her administration can deliver lasting change while safeguarding the country’s hard-won democratic gains.
