Mexico has witnessed a dramatic transformation in its political and security landscape over the past year, as President Claudia Sheinbaum marked her first anniversary in office in September 2025. The country’s first female president, Sheinbaum has managed to both captivate the public and reshape national policy, all while navigating the challenges of cartel violence, diplomatic tensions, and the legacy of her predecessor’s controversial security strategies.
Sheinbaum’s ascent to the presidency in 2024 signaled a turning point for Mexico. According to EL PAÍS, her administration has shifted the country’s security strategy by strengthening federal police forces and reviving the influence of the defunct Federal Police—an institution once dissolved under former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Leaders trained in the old Federal Police now occupy top positions in the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), led by Omar García Harfuch. Notably, Francisco Almazán directs the National Intelligence Center (CNI), Héctor Elizalde serves as Undersecretary of Investigation, and Omar Reyes heads the Financial Intelligence Unit at the Secretariat of Finance.
Sheinbaum’s approach is a careful balancing act. While she supports the now-militarized National Guard—brought under the Defense Secretariat and expanded during López Obrador’s term—she has also nurtured the police apparatus, restoring much of the operational capacity lost during previous reforms. The SSPC’s budget for 2026 reflects this renewed emphasis, boasting more than 60 billion pesos (around $3.2 billion), an increase of over 20 billion pesos ($1.08 billion) from the prior year.
“They’ve built a Criminal Investigation Agency within the CNI,” a source familiar with the evolution of Mexico’s security forces told EL PAÍS. This agency, closely modeled after the investigative branch of the Attorney General’s Office, is a testament to Harfuch’s influence and Sheinbaum’s confidence in police-led strategies. According to Eduardo Guerrero, director of the consulting firm Lantia, “Harfuch is a professional in the field, unlike López Obrador’s secretaries, who were experienced political operators. He is the leader, strategist, and evaluator of security policy.”
The results, at least for now, are promising. The decline in Mexico’s homicide rate—which began in the later years of López Obrador—has accelerated during Sheinbaum’s first year. Other high-impact crimes have also fallen, except for extortion, which has risen by more than 20%. Experts suggest this spike may be due to increased reporting by victims, a possible sign of growing public trust in law enforcement.
Despite these gains, the challenge of impunity remains daunting. As EL PAÍS reports, only 0.8% of crimes received a favorable resolution from the Attorney General’s Office in 2024. Over 90% of crimes went unreported, highlighting deep-seated inefficiencies in the public prosecutor system. Ernesto López Portillo, coordinator of the citizen security program at Universidad Iberoamericana, cautioned, “From 2011 to 2024, rates of victims and crime, unreported crimes, and the percentage of cases properly handled by the public prosecutor have not improved.”
Sheinbaum’s security strategy is not without its critics. While she has distanced herself from López Obrador’s “hugs, not bullets” approach—often blamed for emboldening drug traffickers—analysts such as Carlo Bravo argue that domestic policy remains her primary focus. “Domestic policy is clearly the only field that matters to her,” Bravo told AFP, noting her absence from major international events like the UN General Assembly and the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa.
Sheinbaum’s popularity, however, remains undiminished. According to AFP, her approval rating soared to 79 percent in late August 2025, up from around 70 percent after she took office. Her national “accountability tour”—hailed as unprecedented—has seen her visit all 31 Mexican states, culminating in a planned speech in Mexico City’s central Zócalo on October 5, 2025. “It has truly been a very motivating experience,” Sheinbaum remarked, adding that “close to half a million people have attended the events.”
Her connection with the public is palpable. In packed football stadiums across the country, supporters chanted “Presidenta! Presidenta!” as Sheinbaum reported back to voters on her first 12 months in office. Pedro Partida, a retired janitor, credited her with “restoring self-esteem” to women in a society long marked by machismo. “The phrase ‘you look prettier when you’re quiet’ no longer has a place in Mexico!” Sheinbaum declared in a widely shared video. “Girls come up to me and say, ‘I want to be like you when I grow up, I don’t want to be a princess anymore; I want to be president.’”
Sheinbaum’s scientific background—she is the daughter of a chemist and a biologist, and trained as an environmental scientist—has shaped her leadership style. “She has a scientific approach... based on data and facts, and she requests her team to present results within specific timeframes,” a European diplomat told AFP. Her discipline, honed as a ballet dancer in her youth, has helped her weather crises, including a rare incident at Mexico City International Airport on September 27, 2025, when the air traffic control tower was struck twice by lightning. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport, “thanks to the redundant emergency communication systems, at no time was contact with aircraft lost.”
Infrastructure projects have also featured prominently in Sheinbaum’s first year. The Mexico City-Toluca commuter train, “El Insurgente,” has been conducting trial runs to the Observatorio station in Mexico City, with full passenger services between Zinacantepec and Observatorio expected to commence in late December 2025 or early January 2026. The project, begun in 2014, is now “practically” finished, Sheinbaum said, reflecting her administration’s focus on delivering long-delayed public works.
On the international front, Sheinbaum has managed delicate relations with Washington, particularly with former president Donald Trump. Her diplomatic skills have been credited with convincing Trump to postpone 30-percent tariffs on Mexican imports—a move that won her global admiration. The United States remains Mexico’s largest trading partner, taking nearly 83 percent of its exports, and the upcoming review of the three-way free trade deal with the U.S. and Canada looms large over Mexico’s economic outlook.
Yet, challenges persist. The number of disappeared persons in Mexico has increased under Sheinbaum’s watch, with 13,547 people going missing between October 2024 and August 2025, up from 13,106 in the previous period. Many are believed to be victims of cartel violence and forced recruitment. Still, Sheinbaum’s administration has extradited 55 senior cartel leaders and fugitives to the United States and made record fentanyl seizures, earning praise from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “There’s no other government that’s cooperating as much with us in the fight against crime as the government of Mexico and President Sheinbaum’s administration.”
As Sheinbaum’s first year draws to a close, Mexico finds itself at a crossroads—emboldened by new leadership, yet still grappling with old problems. The coming years will test whether the president’s blend of scientific rigor, political savvy, and personal charisma can deliver lasting security and progress for a nation hungry for change.
