By EFE
08 Oct 2024, 18:30 PM EDT
It is false that the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, participated in a “witchcraft ritual” at her inauguration, as wrongly stated by Internet users who attached some images of a segment of the event in which a ceremony was held with indigenous representatives and Afro-Mexicans.
After Sheinbaum’s swearing-in, users on social networks such as Facebook or
“The leftist Claudia Sheinbaum began her presidential term by participating in a witchcraft ritual,” states one of the messages located online, where some profiles also claimed that it was a “cult of Satan.”
On October 1, Sheinbaum became the first female president of the North American country, after more than 200 years of Mexico as an independent State.
FACTS: It is not true that Claudia Sheinbaum participated in a witchcraft ritual during her inauguration. The images circulating on the internet show the moment in which the ruler received the Staff of Command from the hands of representatives of indigenous peoples, a symbolic ceremonial object for native communities that was also given to her predecessor, as demonstrated by the event program. , academic articles and information from EFE.
Indigenous representatives recognized their choice with ceremonial objects
Days before the official ceremony, Sheinbaum’s communications office announced the investiture program, in which it indicated that around six in the afternoon the president would receive a “department of five female authorities from indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples.” , who would deliver the Staff of Command to the president as a symbol of political recognition.
Likewise, the programming indicated that a “cleansing and purification” ritual, traditional for ancestral peoples, would take place at the event.
According to research by Milvet Alonso Gutiérrez, a doctor from the University of Georgia, the Staff of Command is an important element in several indigenous cultures, as it “symbolizes the maximum authority, both spiritual and political, of the person who holds it within the system of community organization.” ”.
The text indicates that, traditionally, the object is delivered “to the authority of the indigenous community that has a political position” and represents “submission” to said figure.
An offering that represents the universe and the products of “Mother Earth”
According to the official swearing-in program, a ceremonial offering was also placed on stage that symbolized “the entirety of the universe and the fruits of Mother Earth.”
Around it, “sahumerios” were arranged to represent “the four directions” and the center of the universe, key elements in the indigenous worldview.
According to official information, when invoking the four directions, those present had to have their arms raised and palms open to ask for the “enlightenment and wisdom” of the new president, among other things.
López Obrador did the same ceremony
Former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024) also held the same celebration when he took office six years ago, as demonstrated by images from the EFE archive.
In this solemn act, a purification ritual was carried out in which López Obrador received a crucifix from the representatives of the indigenous peoples and knelt to receive it before more than 120,000 people gathered on the Zócalo esplanade in the Mexican capital.
In conclusion, it is false that Sheinbaum participated in a witchcraft ritual at his inauguration. It was an indigenous ceremony in which the native peoples grant their trust to the leader.
Keep reading:
• Who are the 7 women who were elected presidents in Latin America before Claudia Sheinbaum
• What do Claudia Sheinbaum’s first gender reforms consist of?
• “I am a mother, grandmother, scientist and woman of faith. And from today, president”: Claudia Sheinbaum’s powerful speech upon assuming power in Mexico