Fidel Castro in Cuba was famous for his marathon speeches. His political heir, Hugo Chávez, used a weekly television program – “Aló President” – as axis of his communication strategy in Venezuela. Today, US President Donald Trump applies a media saturation formula known as “flooding of the area.”
Few world leaders, if any, hold a daily meeting of several hours with the press as does the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum.
Sheinbaum inherited the show of his predecessor and political mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who made him a tool to connect with the masses and tirelessly press his agenda.
One year after her mandate, the first woman president of Mexico has endorsed La Mañanera.
The morning works as a government variety program and offers Sheinbaum a stage to detail advances of its administration or correct the narrative. Official presentations usually include short graphics or videos with triumphal music. Then follow a question and answers session with reporters and youtubers from the National Palace, where the conference is broadcast live every morning.
It is seen projecting firmness, smiles and much less confrontation than that of the charismatic but polarizer López Obrador, also known as AMLO. It is a commitment to a format that has managed to dominate, although it receives criticism for being excessively controlling, according to polls, strategists and campaign advisors.
“It is a recipe that has worked. And that’s why she follows it,” said the pollster Lorena Becerra.
With Sheinbaum, the morning is shorter and more punctual. AMLO used to be late and extended with historical monologues or long attacks against adversaries.
The president usually gives direct answers in a serene tone or, failing that, promises that officials will provide more information later. He has maintained weekly segments such as the one that guides consumers against price abuse, but also added new sections, such as the one that celebrates women in the history of Mexico. In August, premiered the most recent single from the popular untouchable band: a pro-migrant anthem reproduced on video while she listened to him from the podium.
Before assuming, their advisors faced a family challenge: the study groups showed that the genre of the future president affected the perception of their capacity, according to a person close to their communication team.
The answer was to design a more executive image, with elegant costumes, dresses or jackets embroidered with Mexican traditional motifs, Accompanied by its orderly choleta feature, explained the source under anonymity.
At that time, he speculated that he could eliminate the morning. But, in the end, the decision was obvious.
“I think it is an exercise that cannot be released,” said Camila Martínez, head of national communication of the MORENA official party. It is a “very powerful” tool to influence the media, he said, highlighting how the big newspapers have become accustomed to collecting ads there.
Martínez, who was also a spokeswoman for Sheinbaum’s presidential campaign, stressed that the morning allows him to speak directly to the people. In addition, he gives him margin to differentiate himself from AMLO’s style by attacking critics. “It seems to me that the president has been a bit more surgical,” he said.
Roberto Trad, Mexican political strategist who has advised figures such as Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Brazilian finance minister Fernando Haddad, said that the contrast with AMLO has benefited him.
“López Obrador looked his fault and looked at the intention of hurting her.” Said Trad, who has never worked for Sheinbaum. “Although it continues to confront, although it continues to polarize, it does so with much more respect and much less vicious.”
LA version of Sheinbaum – with more than 43,000 daily spectators on YouTube Live on average during August – maintains continuity, but has established itself in its own terms.
At the same time, there are decline signs at the online audience, despite its enviable 74% approval.
In the first nine months of the year, the events broadcast on the official Sheinbaum channel – mostly mornings – added more than 24 million hours seen. That represents almost 30% less than the 34 million hours accumulated by AMLO in the same period of 2024, according to an analysis of the consulting firm Streams Charts.
The range of AMLO on YouTube Live reached its peak in 2023, when it was crowned as “King of streaming” in Latin America. So far from 2025, Sheinbaum occupies the regional number 7 (excluding Brazil), behind creators of younger content, mostly gamers from Peru and Colombia, show the data.
Sheinbaum’s morning also changed in another aspect.
Less and less independent journalists attend to launch incisive questions. Instead, self -demonstrating self -decreases abound. A political animal analysis revealed that, in 207 conferences between its inauguration and July, more than 500 of the almost 1,400 questions were classified as favorable. Regular attendees estimate that the percentage of friendly questions exceed 50%.
In essence, the morning works as a speaker that dodges traditional sources of information, weakened against the progress of social networks.
The same logic explains why Trump founded his own platform, Truth Social, and turned back with the prohibition of Tiktok to, however, demand that the Americans control their operations in the country. In fact, He has talked openly about the role of that network in his re -election.
“We see many political figures using platforms such as Twitch, YouTube or even Tiktok to connect with young and technological voters in more authentic and immediate ways,” said Nazar Babenko, product manager at Streams Charts.
Sheinbaum recently explained the link that seeks to establish.
“We are interested that those who listen from afar can enter directly, without intermediaries, what we are doing and how we move forward,” he said. Moments later, He disqualified several journalistic notes and recalled that the morning also serves “to exhibit bad milk”: One of AMLO’s inherited segments is the so -called “Who is who in lies”, which points against what the Government considers false news.
Ricky Arango, a campaign consultant who has worked for both Morena and opposition leaders, said AMLO faced a less aggressive Trump in his first mandate. He attributes Sheinbaum to have handled “a very complicated relationship” with the US president avoiding impulsive reactions and marking agenda every morning.
“It seems to me that it is a success to be a lot in the media,” he said. “It takes weight to these issues that can be very dangerous.”
Although he is recognized to have followed the steps of AMLO, some observers argue that the daily exercise is not entirely natural for the president, more inclined to data and science. The greatest risk comes from its strong concentration of power: His coalition controls broad majorities in Congress, and the first judicial election of June granted his party significant influence in the courts.
Apart from Trump, there is really no one to blame if he fails.
Becerra, the pollster, believes that Sheinbaum’s impulse to mobilize nationalist feelings against Trump probably already exhausted and that her very high popularity can only descend.
“Imagine that all the time, eight out of 10 Mexicans, say you are doing your job well, “he warned.” In a country like Mexico, it’s impossible!”
