Sheinbaum's First Two Years of Legislative Overhauls

In the two years of Claudia Sheinbaum's administration, 27 constitutional reforms and 76 legal reforms have been approved, reversing measures from the neoliberal era.

Speaking in the context of her second State of the Nation address, she highlighted during her daily morning press conference that these changes have undone a significant portion of neoliberal-era policies while restoring the Constitution's social dimension—particularly regarding democracy, sovereignty, and social rights like housing, health, and education.

She emphasized that the governing Fourth Transformation project goes even further through the full recognition of the rights of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples, something absent from the historic constitutions of 1824, 1857, and 1917 until the recent 2024 reform.

The Legal Counsel to the Presidency, Luisa María Alcalde Luján, grouped the legislative achievements into several key themes:

National Sovereignty: Restoring state oversight drove key reforms to reclaim public control over strategic sectors and natural resources. These measures strengthened state-owned enterprises like PEMEX and the Federal Commission of Electricity (CFE), revived passenger rail, and advanced food sovereignty by banning genetically modified corn while enshrining water as a human right. Furthermore, the reforms curb foreign interference by prohibiting foreign government political propaganda on radio and television and mandating the annulment of elections if external tampering is proven.

Democracy & Austerity: The Mexican electoral system was strengthened through the prohibition of nepotism and consecutive reelection for all popularly elected offices—while presidential reelection has remained banned since 1917—and mechanisms for public consultation were expanded. With respect to "republican austerity," extravagant privileges and excessive benefits for high-ranking government officials were outlawed, and high-cost autonomous bodies were replaced with streamlined, direct transparency mechanisms.

Security & Justice: The scope of mandatory pretrial detention was expanded to cover high-impact crimes such as extortion, fentanyl trafficking, arms smuggling, and tax invoice fraud (factureros). Additionally, the National Guard was reinforced, and the popular election of judges and magistrates was established.

Social Welfare & Rights: Welfare programs for seniors, youth, rural workers, students, and fishers have been strengthened and enshrined as constitutional rights. Labor rights were also significantly advanced with the promotion of a 40-hour workweek, measures to narrow the wage gap, social security for digital platform workers, the "Chair Law" for retail and service employees who work on their feet, and enhanced safety protections for agricultural day laborers.

Housing & Environment: A new adequate housing reform restores the direct building authority of Infonavit (the housing fund for formal-sector workers) and FOVISSSTE (for state employees), guaranteeing affordable housing equipped with essential services and infrastructure. Beyond traditional purchasing loans, the initiative introduces flexible options for social rental and home renovations. With respect to the environment, two vital reforms were introduced: one concerning ecological balance and environmental protection, and another regarding animal protection and care.

Economy & Development: Key economic reforms focus on cutting red tape through administrative simplification, digitalizing bureaucratic procedures, and establishing a national framework to ease investment and spur growth. This includes driving public and mixed investment to support micro and small businesses while advancing strategic infrastructure for national development.

Rights of Women: A constitutional and legal reform regarding substantive equality—passed in late 2024 and complemented by secondary legislation through 2025 and 2026—elevates women's rights to constitutional status, guaranteeing genuine equality of opportunity in practice. Additionally, a new General Law against Femicide was recently submitted to standardize the crime at the federal level.

Indigenous Rights: This includes the official recognition of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples as subjects of public law, granting them the authority to directly manage community budgets and the right to free, prior, and informed consultation.

President Claudia Sheinbaum noted that this represents a profound transformation in Mexico, consolidated through fundamental constitutional and legal reforms that shape the country's present and future.

Image: Gobierno de México