We are facing a very important moment for all of Latin America: Claudia Sheinbaum\u2019s inauguration in Mexico following the largest election in Mexico\u2019s history. That\u2019s why we spoke with Celeste Tossolini, a political scientist at the National University of C\u00f3rdoba. She is Argentine, lives in Mexico, and has been closely following and commenting on the political situation and public opinion with great dedication. She holds a master\u2019s degree from CIDE. She is also a public affairs consultant in Mexico.<\/p>\n\n
First of all, for those who glance at newspaper front pages or see a few news clippings without being deeply immersed in the situation, there has been a landslide victory for Morena, the party led by Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador. After six years in office, this victory breaks with a trend\u2014one that had been evident in all Latin American elections\u2014of ruling parties suffering defeats. And not only does it break with this trend of ruling parties\u2019 defeats, but at the same time, it has achieved\u2014or is very close to achieving\u2014a qualified majority in Congress. How do you view the election, Celeste, from your perspective?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The truth is that when people say the Mexican Republic is experiencing remarkable times, they\u2019re not lying. What has happened in Mexico is truly historic. We had the largest elections in history\u2014concurrent elections that combined federal and local races. That\u2019s the first point. The second important point about these elections is that, for the first time in the 200-year history of the Mexican Republic, we have a female president. The third important point is that this female president is the president who received the most votes in all of Mexico\u2019s history.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n And the fourth point\u2014and no less significant\u2014is that voter turnout in these elections, both among young people and across many sectors of society, was very high and very strong in a country where voting is not mandatory. And I think this is also because Claudia is not just Claudia herself, but she is accompanied by\u2014as they say here\u2014a generational turnover involving young women in mayoral offices and seats as deputies and senators. So, for me, those are all the important points of this election.<\/p>\n\n And another point, more from a regional perspective, is that we\u2019re facing a transition from the administration of Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador, which is ending its term with an approval rating of approximately 60%, a stable macroeconomy, a microeconomy that\u2019s functioning very well, a strong peso\u2014a government that, like all governments in recent years, went through a pandemic and is still ending its term on this footing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n So, what really strikes me about Mexico is that I see it as an island in the region; what\u2019s happening there is an exceptional case. I\u2019ve seen quite a few analyses\u2014especially from the south\u2014that suggest Mexico is lagging behind, that it\u2019s arriving late to a \u201cpink tide\u201d that we in Argentina have already experienced. This analysis hasn\u2019t come only from Argentina but from other places as well\u2014from various other countries. I don\u2019t think so; I don\u2019t believe Mexico is lagging behind, but rather that it is going through its own distinct Mexican process and is essentially in a situation where the key issue we\u2019re facing is a crisis of representation\u2014Mexico is showing us how representation is done. We see this precisely in Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s 60% approval rating, and we also see it in the percentage of the vote Claudia Sheinbaum has received, which is much higher than Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n It\u2019s not limited to Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador; it extends to Claudia as well. And Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s success is political, yes, but it\u2019s also about communication. And to me, that seems to be the key to Morena\u2019s success in power: the close connection the president has fostered with the Mexican people through his communication. And Claudia Sheinbaum is already beginning to establish a new leadership style.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n There\u2019s a very interesting profile about Claudia that was published in Anfibia magazine, detailing her life.<\/strong><\/a> I would have thought that Argentina would have the first president of Jewish descent, but Mexico beat us to it. Claudia Sheinbaum has overcome several challenges to reach this position, and she is undoubtedly a very interesting figure to keep in mind in her own right, as you said. That said, it\u2019s interesting to understand a bit about the broader context of the election. I mean, Mexico doesn\u2019t have mandatory voting; in Argentina, for example, we do. In Chile, it used to be optional and is now mandatory. In Mexico, as I understand it, voting has always been optional, and this surely shapes each election differently. What are your thoughts on this?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Yes, exactly. I believe that the institutional system determines the political landscape in any country. As you rightly pointed out, in Argentina we have mandatory voting. And another thing that strikes me when comparing it to Argentina is that we have four-year terms, whereas here they\u2019re six-year terms with no possibility of reelection, and we also have runoffs, whereas here there\u2019s nothing like that. So, even though the institutional system is federal, it\u2019s quite different\u2014here, voting isn\u2019t mandatory, and yet people still turned out to vote. So, to me, that seems twice as significant.<\/p>\n\n They do, in fact, have six-year terms with no possibility of reelection. That is the system in Mexico, and in these elections\u2014as I mentioned at the beginning\u2014there were multiple races; the federal elections were held alongside the local elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n In the federal elections, voters elected the president, senators, and deputies, and in the local elections, they elected governors, mayors, municipal presidents, and local deputies. In other words, it was essentially an exceptional election in terms of the number of offices up for election.<\/p>\n\n When people say it was the largest election in Mexico\u2019s history, it\u2019s because the number of people who voted was greater than in the past\u2014which makes sense, given that the population is growing\u2014or because the election simultaneously included more offices than usual.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n There are two factors. First, voter turnout was higher, and second, the election itself was large-scale because it included all 32 states. This practice of holding concurrent elections is very new to the Mexican political system. It was first implemented in 2018, but did not include all 32 states. In this election, officials were elected in all 32 federal entities. That\u2019s why it was the largest election in history, but it was also the election with the highest voter turnout. It has two key characteristics.<\/p>\n\n Claudia Sheinbaum led the field and may even have come close to 60%. Her main opponent was Xochiitl Galvez, an independent figure very close to the Partido de Acci\u00f3n Nacional. The opposition coalition Va por M\u00e9xico is made up of the Partido de Acci\u00f3n Nacional (PAN), a center-right party; the PRI, a party with a long history and more than 70 years in government in Mexico; and the PRD, a left-wing split from the PRI from which Morena also emerged. In other words, it is quite a colorful alliance on the Mexican opposition side, and it managed to win approximately 27 or 28%.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n What is your assessment of this opposition\u2019s outlook? How do you see the opposition organizing itself during this campaign? What does the vote this opposition received represent? Was it below their expectations? Was it above their expectations? What can we say about them?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n In particular, I believe Mexico is experiencing a somewhat inverse process on the left compared with the outsider phenomenon seen across the region. We see traditional parties losing elections throughout Latin America.<\/p>\n\n Basically, what\u2019s happening in Mexico is that we have an outsider on the left, I would say. I interpret Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s leadership as having been punished by the traditional parties; even so, he took office, and his movement has now essentially achieved a very strong election result in renewing its mandate. What\u2019s happening here in Mexico is somewhat the reverse: the traditional political class continues to lose elections, just as it does throughout the region, but here this is happening through the left. So, the PAM-PRI-PRD alliance that formed showed that even bringing all the traditional parties together was not enough to match Morena\u2019s vote or the victory Morena is achieving. Thus, the traditional political forces continue to be the ones punished. I do not view Morena as a traditional political force, precisely because of the history of Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s rise to power.<\/p>\n\n It\u2019s somewhat interesting to look at Xochitl Galvez\u2019s case, because her campaign started off with a lot of fanfare and a certain degree of spectacle, but it seemed to lose steam as the electoral battle unfolded. It was as if she couldn\u2019t find her niche. I\u2019ve been following the analyses of colleagues who have a deeper understanding of and follow the Mexican election more closely, and they placed a lot of emphasis on this. It seems that Xochitl couldn\u2019t quite figure out what kind of message she wanted to convey. That is, whether she was going to position herself as someone who said, \u201cEverything Morena has done is fine, but we\u2019re going to do it even better\u201d\u2014which was something she tried to do at times\u2014or whether, at the same time, she was going to say, \u201cNo, no, they\u2019re spending too much of our state money, and what we\u2019re actually going to do is something else.\u201d And since there\u2019s a sort of confusion or complication when it comes to conveying a coherent message regarding how to position themselves against Morena, what can you tell us about this, Celeste?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Yes, I think Morena succeeded in this election by shifting the focus to all of its issues. The Mexican campaign began a year ago. Back in Argentina, we still didn\u2019t have a president and were just days away from having to hold elections, while here the campaign had already begun a year earlier. And what was evident was precisely a strategy\u2014that is, this was my interpretation\u2014of initially positioning the candidates.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n It started with the internal party primary. Here in Mexico, there are no open, simultaneous, and mandatory primaries, as there are in Argentina. That institutional process doesn\u2019t exist, but Morena decided to implement it as a party. So, the opposition starts the election campaign three steps behind, because Morena says: \u201cWell, I have these six candidates,\u201d and by doing so, it begins to position its candidates. Morena\u2019s candidates\u2014for the presidency as well as for various other positions, such as governorships and heads of government\u2014were selected through public opinion polls conducted by several consulting firms. So, whoever had the highest approval rating became the candidate.<\/p>\n\n Claudia won the poll nationwide, across Mexico, and Clara came in second in Mexico City, behind Omar Harfuch. And what essentially makes Clara the candidate for Mexico City is the gender quota, because Morena also established\u2014in these internal elections\u2014that while we have a quota for the legislature, we don\u2019t have one for the executive branch. Morena nevertheless established a quota for the executive branch as well. So, they said: \u201cSeven governorships will be elected, and four of those will be held by women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n I think the opposition\u00a0is starting the campaign with its reputation completely in tatters. First, because it\u2019s starting late\u2014Morena has gotten a head start on candidate positioning. And second, because, precisely as you also mentioned, Lucas, Morena has been very effective at communicating what the opposition was doing to the Mexican public\u2014including, I believe, young people, not just older people but the youth as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Remember that the opposition coalition that emerged is essentially a contradiction in terms. I mean, the PAN joined forces with the PRI and the PRD\u2014it\u2019s basically a coalition that doesn\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n\n What happened during that process was that Morena began its primary campaign, and the opposition didn\u2019t have a candidate. So, there was talk that Xochitl would be the candidate for Mexico City. She even stood a good chance of winning in Mexico City. That\u2019s when Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador, being the strategist that he is, began putting Xochitl in the spotlight and attacking her\u2014which is why the opposition started turning its attention to her. Suddenly, overnight, Xochitl appeared as a candidate. At that point, Morena not only set the agenda; it also effectively determined the opposition\u2019s candidacy. All of this began this way and continued in the same vein: X\u00f3chitl didn\u2019t know which way to go\u2014one day she was a progressive, the next she was a Catholic\u2014so we didn\u2019t know which voters she was trying to reach. A communications campaign that was truly very poorly organized and strategically flawed, from start to finish. There\u2019s a completely off-base interpretation. Wherever she positioned herself, there was a communication error. One day she was on the right, the next day on the left; one day she was friends with so-and-so, and the next day she was feuding with them.<\/p>\n\n It was truly a catastrophic campaign in terms of communication. At the same time, Morena ran a very polished campaign. Claudia was improving; I think that at first everyone compared her to Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador, and as you well know, when there\u2019s such a strong, populist leader, it leaves a huge void. Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador is truly admirable; he is one of the strategists and communicators of this era. I even think he was the most-watched YouTuber last year, thanks to his morning press conferences. So, I think Claudia also faced a communication challenge there, but today we see a successful Claudia who has already overcome that challenge. She basically has her own strategy and her own brand, which is different from AMLO\u2019s, but which is also proving very effective in terms of communication.<\/p>\n\n At the same time, there\u2019s a third candidate who I think we shouldn\u2019t overlook: M\u00e1ynez, the candidate from Movimiento Ciudadano.<\/p>\n\n Jorge M\u00e1ynez, who\u2014in case you didn\u2019t know\u2014has gone viral in the weeks leading up to the election because he is the candidate for Movimiento Ciudadano, the third party in contention among the three alliances that ran in the Mexican election. Movimiento Ciudadano is identified with the color orange; it\u2019s a party that originally split off from the PRI as well and that, through various debates, political actions, and communication efforts, managed to position itself better than initially expected, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Exactly. I think that if there is a viable opposition that can be formed now in preparation for the upcoming midterm elections\u2014and also with a long-term perspective\u2014it is Movimiento Ciudadano.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Movimiento Ciudadano has run a very effective campaign in political communication, especially online. As we know, Movimiento Ciudadano governs two states, Nuevo Le\u00f3n and Jalisco, and that is where Movimiento Ciudadano\u2019s leadership is based. I believe that from Monterrey, Nuevo Le\u00f3n, Samuel Garc\u00eda and his wife, Mariana, have strongly promoted everything related to digital political communication and the use of TikTok. That has basically helped M\u00e1ynez run a very strong campaign in communication terms: he was initially projected to receive 5% of the vote but ended up with much more. So that is another point\u00a0to consider: an opposition made up of completely weakened traditional parties and a third opposition candidate who is doing fairly well in third place, even though he did not catch the leading candidate. I think it is a phenomenon.<\/p>\n\n Mexico is, in terms of pockets of progressivism, a very unique phenomenon, but at the same time, what\u2019s happening there isn\u2019t very different from what\u2019s happening in the rest of Latin America: people are turning their backs on traditional political parties.<\/p>\n\n We had a choice that included these three parties\u2014or rather, these three coalitions. In the words of the renowned Mexican analyst Viri R\u00edos, it\u2019s a contest of unpopularity. In that sense, do you think there\u2019s simply a high level of trust in Morena, or do people just not trust the others as much?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n No, I don\u2019t agree with that concept; I think Morena has been able to effectively represent the population. Yes, I think there are disillusioned voters\u2014obviously, you can\u2019t govern without having some\u2014but I don\u2019t think they make up the vast majority of the vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n I believe the vast majority voted for Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s successful administration and out of an expectation that the areas left unfinished would be taken further. And when I say \u201careas left unfinished,\u201d I\u2019m referring specifically to environmental and energy issues, particularly the water crisis. Second, security; and third, gender. Security also includes migration. So, those three points will be very important for Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n I don\u2019t think this was about choosing the \u201clesser evil.\u201d I participated as an international observer in the elections, so I was monitoring the polling stations on Election Day. I really enjoy talking to people, so I started interviewing them\u2014obviously, without hindering the democratic process.<\/p>\n\n People had traveled an hour to get to the polling station and say, \u201cI\u2019m here to vote because this person represents me.\u201d They saw me from Argentina and saw other colleagues from other places; Mexico is setting an example for the world. We\u2019re proud to be Mexican, and I believe that Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador has, in fact, fostered that sentiment among the population\u2014that for the first time, the people… There\u2019s a saying\u2014and here I\u2019m going to bring up Bolivia, which has nothing to do with it, but it really resonates with me when thinking about this process\u2014where Evo, at one point, gave a speech in Bolivia and said that Bolivia before Evo wasn\u2019t really Bolivia and that no one was proud to be Bolivian. And I think something very similar is happening among the people with Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador. And I think Claudia provides a boost\u2014obviously, Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador leaves a void in some areas, but Claudia provides a boost in others and creates a different agenda, and she\u2019s really now establishing a leadership that\u2019s having a powerful impact on the people. I interviewed many women on election day, and it really was historic that in Mexico there were two women running for president\u2014and, of course, how could they not come out to vote?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n So, I don\u2019t think disillusionment is taking hold and specifically benefiting Morena, because Morena stands against the traditional political class. There will also be votes from people disillusioned with previous administrations, which obviously haven\u2019t responded to the Mexican people, haven\u2019t known how to communicate effectively, and haven\u2019t been able to run an effective collective campaign\u2014but I think that\u2019s the general trend.<\/p>\n\n As far as I\u2019m concerned, the vote disenchanted with Morena is now going to Movimiento Ciudadano, because those voters don\u2019t like how Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador has governed\u2014mainly on issues of violence, migration, and the environment. These are the most critical issues for the group that doesn\u2019t feel represented and is turning directly to Movimiento Ciudadano. That\u2019s\u00a0my take on it.<\/p>\n\n I was looking at some data analysis on which sectors have voted for Morena, and it shows young people and large segments of the population\u2014in other words, basically all age groups have voted for Morena, as well as all social classes, which is also quite novel. So, I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019d interpret this in terms of the concept Viri R\u00edos was proposing.<\/p>\n\n Who were the candidates in Mexico City, and what was the outcome regarding this so-called Plan C? What did Morena\u2019s Plan C consist of?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Basically, Plan C is the path proposed by Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador to pass a set of reforms. There are 20 reforms, if I\u2019m not mistaken. And the most relevant one, in my view, is the reform of the judiciary.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n During his last year in office, Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador has frequently attacked the judiciary. Here in Mexico, unlike in Argentina, there are many autonomous bodies, and these autonomous bodies have emerged during AMLO\u2019s administration as very strong centers of opposition. One of these is the judiciary. And precisely the most far-reaching reform that Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador wants to implement\u2014which I personally find quite controversial and which has sparked a great deal of debate among academic circles, especially among lawyers\u2014is that he essentially wants judges, justices, and magistrates to be elected by popular vote, thereby challenging the privileges enjoyed by the judiciary, which\u2014much as we also see in Argentina\u2014has become very distant from the people. And well, now what has basically happened is that they\u2019ve secured a qualified majority in the Chamber of Deputies.<\/p>\n\n And then, regarding the situation in Mexico City\u2014specifically the Mexico City election\u2014Morena\u2019s internal poll showed that the two candidates who stood out the most were Omar Harfuch and Clara Brugada. Clara Brugada was the second-most preferred candidate in the polls conducted by the party, but due to the gender quota\u2014since there were seven gubernatorial races, including the race for head of government of Mexico City\u2014the slot for Mexico City went to a woman. So it was Clara, who was second on that list.<\/p>\n\n Clara ran a campaign in Mexico City; I\u2019d say she fell far short\u2014she could have garnered many more votes\u2014because, basically, Mexico City is the stronghold of the Mexican left. You could interpret it differently, of course, but the left has always won here; the right has never won. On the other hand, there was a campaign by Santiago Taboada, the PAN candidate, which was very strong in terms of communications\u2014lots of media attacks and very well organized. So that threw the city\u2019s outcome into doubt. In the final days, the discussion went something like this: \u201cWe don\u2019t stand a chance in the presidential race; Claudia is going to win the presidency\u2014we just don\u2019t know by how much.\u201d People were talking about a 10- to 20-point margin; no one imagined it would be 30\u2014that shocked everyone. But, on the other hand, the city was within single digits in all the polls. So, yes, the city was the one in doubt, the one causing the most anxiety.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n And what happened on election night was that Mexico City\u2019s system crashed. So, reports of the system being hacked began to spread, but it turned out that after the election, Clara won the city\u2014though not by as wide a margin as Claudia\u2014and I think that\u2019s precisely due to the digital political campaigns run by both candidates and all the effort Santiago Taboada has dedicated to digital strategy and communication.<\/p>\n\n And Clara Brugada also surely had to pay a price for problems that arose in the administration in recent months. I understand that the water issue was significant.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Yes, exactly. There\u2019s also the issue with the subway collapse, which happened during Claudia\u2019s administration\u2014it was built by Marcelo Ebrard, but it collapsed under Claudia\u2019s watch, and I think Clara Brugada is paying the price for it. Then there\u2019s the water issue, as well as a lot of criticism regarding pollution and how it\u2019s being managed in Mexico City.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n I believe that if the world is in a climate crisis, Mexico is on the front line of that crisis\u2014Mexico faces every possible environmental problem. There are earthquakes, environmental pollution, and a water crisis. So, Clara will face a major governance challenge during her term in Mexico City, with the right wing led by Santiago Taboada\u2014which, although it lost the election, I believe has emerged significantly strengthened.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Mexico City alone has 9 million inhabitants. Within Mexico City there are some 16 boroughs, some of which have populations of 800,000, 700,000, or 600,000. In other words, they are larger than the largest municipalities in the Greater Buenos Aires suburbs, in Buenos Aires Province. To give a sense of the scale of the office of head of government, we are talking about 9 million people. When we talk about the boroughs, they are comparable in size to very large municipalities in Argentina. That is, an enormous and very important political contest is being fought there within Mexican politics. What are the main elements to consider when analyzing Mexico City\u2019s political map?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n I believe the main borough\u2014the one with the most votes\u2014is the one Clara Brugada previously governed. Clara Brugada was mayor of Iztapalapa. And that\u2019s where a large portion of Mexico City\u2019s voters is concentrated\u2014I don\u2019t recall the exact number, but it\u2019s a significant portion.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Clara Brugada\u2019s tenure in Iztapalapa was very well received; there, she launched one of the projects that has been recognized internationally by the UN\u2014the Utop\u00edas project. And her government plan is, in part, to extend the vision embodied in that Utop\u00edas project to the rest of the city. On the other hand, Santiago Taboada had previously served as mayor of Benito Ju\u00e1rez.<\/p>\n\n For those unfamiliar with Mexico City, Benito Ju\u00e1rez is akin to Belgrano or Palermo\u2014an area whose residents have very high purchasing power.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Precisely, we could describe Iztapalapa as a peripheral area\u2014one Clara Brugada literally brought light to, providing street lighting and transportation that it did not have, and implementing the Utop\u00edas project, which is essentially a profound social transformation initiative with major social and primarily urban impacts. It is like a model of a modern city\u2014that is how I interpret it from a public policy perspective\u2014because it is integrated and conceived through socio-urban city models with gender, environmental, and social perspectives. On the other hand, as I was saying, there is Benito Ju\u00e1rez under Santiago Taboada. The main achievement of his administration, which he stressed repeatedly during the campaign, was public safety: Benito Ju\u00e1rez is the safest borough in Mexico City.<\/p>\n\n Did Morena make gains at the state level across Mexico?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Yes, exactly. In 2018, what\u2019s happening with the Mexican political map is that it\u2019s gradually turning red. If you look at what\u2019s happened historically, ever since Morena emerged, in 2018 they won Chiapas, Veracruz, and other southern states. And in these elections, what happened was that the states where Movimiento Ciudadano won\u2014such as Jalisco\u2014remained in their hands. Morena made gains in Yucat\u00e1n. That\u2019s the most significant shift I\u2019ve seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n There were some allegations and disputes\u2014especially in the state of Jalisco, where there were\u00a0quite a few disputes\u2014but it\u2019s one of the most important municipalities in the country. However, the major shift I see is the advance into Yucat\u00e1n.<\/p>\n\n How did you get into political science, Mexico, and consulting? You\u2019re very young\u2014you\u2019re 25\u2014and it\u2019s really interesting that you\u2019ve managed to build such a solid foundation so quickly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Actually, I\u2019m not from C\u00f3rdoba City\u2014though those listening may have already realized I\u2019m from C\u00f3rdoba\u2014but I\u2019m from the town of Bell Ville in the interior, and I went to study political science at the National University of C\u00f3rdoba. At the time, I wanted to change the world, and I thought\u2014and still believe\u2014that politics is the primary tool for transforming a structurally unequal world that prevails across the entire continent.<\/p>\n\n Later, after studying at the National University of C\u00f3rdoba\u2014which was a very enriching experience for me\u2014I decided to continue my studies. I wanted to keep studying; I didn\u2019t feel I was sufficiently educated yet. I really liked Latin America, so I wanted to get out of Argentina for a little while, and that\u2019s how I ended up applying for a master\u2019s program in Mexico\u2014one that was, at the time, ranked as the best master\u2019s program in political science in the region. My greatest aspiration was to attend CIDE, the Center for Economic Research and Teaching. I also hoped to give what I had been doing a more international perspective. I arrived in Mexico on a CONAHCYT scholarship\u2014a full-time scholarship to devote myself purely and exclusively to academia.<\/p>\n\n Having a scholarship to devote yourself solely to studying is rewarding\u2014it\u2019s really wonderful. Then I began to branch out, especially when the Argentine elections took place; I started covering the entire process Argentina was going through in the media, because everyone here wanted to know what was happening. That\u2019s how I began to branch out into the media and consulting\u2014also from within academia itself, from CIDE\u2014and with the desire to contribute to politics from another angle as well. I\u2019ve always loved everything surrounding politics, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m now working in the world of consulting and the media.<\/p>\n\n If you had to give us Argentines\u2014who are here and want to understand a little more about Mexico\u2014some recommendations, what would you suggest we read? It\u2019s a truly vast country, with nearly three times the population of Argentina and a very long history. What would you recommend we look for to help us understand a little more about Mexico?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n I have a great book that helped me understand the Mexican nation very well. It was written by a researcher at my institute, CIDE, and is titled \u201cCien a\u00f1os de esp\u00edas y drogas\u201d by Carlos A. P\u00e9rez Ricart. It helped me understand what it means to be in a country that is intertwined with the United States in every sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n For those who want to stay up to date on everything Celeste Tosolini is analyzing, you can follow her on X <\/strong>@celestossolini<\/strong><\/a> and on TikTok <\/strong>https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@celestossolini<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We are facing a very important moment for all of Latin America: Claudia Sheinbaum\u2019s inauguration in Mexico following the largest election in Mexico\u2019s history. That\u2019s why we spoke with Celeste Tossolini, a political scientist at the National University of C\u00f3rdoba. She is Argentine, lives in Mexico, and has been closely following and commenting on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103004725,"featured_media":3262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[121871],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n