Claudio Sheinbaum First Female President In Mexico Amidst Rise In Gangs
NorthAmerica
Politics
Mexico elected the first female president Claudia Sheinbaum, who succeeds populist and former president Andres Manuel Lopez. The former president Andres Manuel Lopez managed to slash poverty levels in Mexico despite the divisive policies witnessed in his government. Having mentored Claudia Sheinbaum into power, the public awaits to see the changes that shall be effected by Claudia Sheinbaum's government in such a dynamic economy. With a GDP growth of 2.4% which amounts to $2.017 trillion Nominal GDP and $3.434 trillion GDP on Purchasing Power Parity as of 2024, President Claudia Sheinbaum is expected to accelerate programs that would propel Mexico's Economy to more growth. The country is however faced with security issues on murder, armed robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping, drug-related violence, and extortion. Mexico is a haven for drug trafficking cases. There has been inter-gang fighting among different drug sects as they take control of major areas more so in the border entry points. Most of the affected businesses are small businesses as they continue being extorted by such gangs. Reports have shown that extortion of businesses has increased by more than 60% since the year 2022 and is such a hard nut for the government to crack. Under former president Andres Manuel Lopez, Mexico experienced the worst violent periods in history, with more than 193,000 murders since 2018. For small businesses, carrying out their business without being caught in the crossfire between rival gang groups poses a challenge. This has made Mexico a highly risky place for small businesses thus pushing investors away from the country. The spread of gang control in different places in Mexico could make it harder for President Claudia Sheinbaum to fulfill her intended goals for Mexico effectively. It also requires stringent actions from her government to tackle crime rates and avoid the country heading to a Haiti situation, where Gangs control major cities. Mexico has become deadly for political candidates and officials, who are routinely targeted by organized crime groups. In recent times, the mayor of Chilpancingo, the capital of Mexico's violence-plagued state of Guerrero was murdered just after six days since President Claudia Sheinbaum took over from Andres Manuel Lopez. The president in her first case aims to solve the crime rate in Mexico by first focusing on those areas that have high crime rates such as Colima, Tijuana, Acapulco, and Celaya, which make up a quarter of the homicide cases that are linked to organized crimes in the country. There are high expectations from the President as she voiced it's time for Women to show that they are capable of taking over leadership in the country. As she prepares to tackle gang violence, restraint is also needed to avoid plunging the country into further crime rates due to inter-gang fighting-
3 MONTHS AGO