People’s Mañanera February 19

ByPedro Gellert Frank

Every day, President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a morning presidential press conference and Mexico Solidarity Media posts English language summaries, translated by Mexico Solidarity’s Pedro Gellert Frank. Previous press conference summaries are available here.

National Train Network: Public Work Projects That Have Returned and Become Consolidated

The Mexican government reported that Phase 1 is underway for the CDMX–Pachuca, CDMX–Querétaro, Querétaro–Irapuato, and Saltillo–Nuevo Laredo routes.

President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that the Suburban train to the Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) will be inaugurated before Easter Week, continuing former President López Obrador’s strategic projects. The Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial and Agrarian Development (SEDATU) reported that families living adjacent to the railway tracks were relocated through a dialogue with owners of semi-communal lands known as ejidos and Indigenous communities, with an investment of 28 million pesos (US$1.63 million).

Electoral Reform Without Simulations

The President announced that on Tuesday, February 24, she will present her Electoral Reform bill. It seeks to update democratic rules and strengthen electoral institutions from the standpoint of voter participation, legality, and popular sovereignty.

Sheinbaum clarified that the document circulating on social media does not correspond to the Executive Branch’s proposal and explained it will be a substantive bill, without simulations or concessions that dilute its essence.

Trains for Development, Not Monopoly Control

Sheinbaum reported that 76% of trains being built use national components, strengthening Mexican industry and internal development.

She recalled that under former President Ernesto Zedillo, services and tracks were concessioned, limiting competition in freight trains. Therefore, the model is under review by the Antimonopoly Commission. In contrast, the Mayan Train for freight service is public and operated by the State, to ensure sovereignty, competition, and collective benefit.

Textbooks by the People and for the People

The Ministry of Public Education (SEP) reported that in 2025, an exercise was conducted with children, teachers, and school communities to evaluate the reception of free textbooks and generate observations to improve them. The SEP emphasized that “textbooks are by and for the people” as they result from the sum of many voices, especially those of children and adolescents.