For Anglo-American audiences used to the induced apathy of major-party politics, it may be difficult to picture what it’s like when Morena sweeps into town. Hours before the scheduled event time, Mexico City’s historic city center begins to morph into a block party, with marchers descending upon the Zócalo from all sides. On the street corners, bands play and people dance.

Unlike opposition rallies, which are older and whiter, Morena gatherings reflect the ethnic and geographic diversity of the 80% mestizo and Indigenous nation. I was approached by Honorato from the Sierra Otomí Tepehua region of Hidalgo, who had traveled six hours to see Sheinbaum. ”They say ours is a marginalized region,” he said. “But they were the ones who marginalized it, all of the ex-presidents!” 

Another participant, Susana, said a Sheinbaum government represents an opportunity to continue along the path against privatization, “unlike the opposition, which is firm in propping the door open for nationals and foreigners to continue to plunder the country.” A woman named Margarita expressed a hope that was more intimate but no less political: for her, Sheinbaum might better understand the plight of women dealing with disappeared children or having to care for family members with illnesses.

The turnout suggests popular enthusiasm for what Morena has accomplished so far. Beyond the war of sneer-and-smear coming out of Anglophone media, the party, in existence for barely a decade, has netted the presidency, the Congress, and a majority of governorships and state legislatures. And if the polls are any indication, it is headed for a landslide that could match or even beat its 2018 performance.

(Ed: Kurt goes on to note that the very success of Morena sets it up for attacks from old-guard rightists in the US and Mexico; they hope to discredit the election before it even happens in order to destabilize a Sheinbaum government. We must be on the alert!)