Mexico's Sheinbaum keeps doing morning briefings, though her style is unlike her predecessor's
Claudia Sheinbaum has begun her presidency the same way her predecessor concluded his: with a morning media briefing known in Mexico as a mañanera from the National Palace
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's new President Claudia Sheinbaum started her day Wednesday much like her political mentor, ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, began most of his: with an early morning news briefing from the National Palace.
López Obrador's news briefings, known as the “mañaneras,” were marathon affairs, featuring folksy dialogue, verbal jousting with the press, and, frequently, long history lessons. His oratorical skills turned his 2 1/2-hour-long daily mañaneras into a powerful political weapon.
Sheinbaum kept her morning briefing shorter, less combative and more concise, in keeping with her character as a scientist and academic.
She said she would keep some of her predecessor's fixtures, like a weekly segment attacking what she called media “lies” about the government. The new president also continued a diplomatic dispute with Spain — which has refused to apologize for abuses during the 1500s conquest of Mexico — that many thought she would try to defuse.
