It was described as a ceremonial handing of the baton by the ruling party. However, it was denounced by the opposition as a “passing of the scepter.” Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is constitutionally prohibited from seeking reelection, made a public effort last month to convey his support for presidential contender Claudia Sheinbaum. Therefore, in a ceremony held outside a restaurant in Mexico City that is close to the National Palace, the home of the nation’s executive branch, he gave his much-anticipated successor an actual baton. In expressing gratitude to Lopez Obrador, Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old former mayor of Mexico City and close political ally, struck all the right chords. Sheinbaum announced her acceptance of the leadership role and the socialist Morena party’s presidential candidacy, stating that she would take on “the full responsibility of continuing.