MEXICO CITY — Claudia Sheinbaum’s ability to steer Mexico through Donald Trump’s trade chaos turned her into an international phenomenon. A year into her presidency, however, she’s finding it harder to navigate political difficulties at home.

Sheinbaum and Trump will meet in person for the first time around Friday’s FIFA World Cup draw in Washington, an event that will set the match schedule for the soccer spectacle the U.S., Mexico and Canada are hosting next year.

The encounter will occur at a crucial time for Sheinbaum, whose insistence on maintaining a cabeza fría — or cool head — with her combative neighbor stands in contrast to the tenser posture she’s taken toward domestic challenges that include a sluggish economy, scandals inside her party and a high-profile murder that reignited concerns about cartel-fueled violence.

Facing the most difficult chapter of her young presidency, the rare trip abroad offers Sheinbaum the chance to recapture the momentum she gained from charming Trump into delaying the most punishing of his threatened tariffs early in her tenure.

Sheinbaum remains Latin America’s most popular major leader, with 61% approval in an AtlasIntel survey published this week. But her net approval rating has fallen 10 points since September, and support has also declined even in polls that show her stronger.

The president’s Morena party has in recent months faced scandals involving luxury travel by high-ranking members, undermining the austere, everyman populism that Sheinbaum’s predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, had sought to project.

A subsequent probe into a fuel smuggling gambit known as “huachicol fiscal” highlighted the country’s enduring corruption problems while threatening to tarnish both Morena and the Navy, one of Mexico’s most respected institutions.

The biggest shock came on Nov. 1, when Carlos Manzo, a popular mayor known for fiercely targeting narco-trafficking, was gunned down during a Day of the Dead celebration. Two weeks later, around 17,000 people took to the streets for demonstrations that served as a catch-all for anyone frustrated about anything in Mexico, from violence to rising consumer prices.

The protest exposed brewing discontent within a nation where the economy contracted in the third quarter: Mexicans rated corruption, violence and inflation as the three most important issues in November, AtlasIntel found.

The typically-measured Sheinbaum, however, reacted even before the protests took place, saying they were organized by right-wing politicians and business leaders who oppose her government. They had the help of 8 million foreign social media bots funded by a budget of 90 million pesos, she said.

Much like AMLO, as the charismatic former president is known, Sheinbaum has used daily morning press briefings to keep control of the country’s political narrative, molding the so-called mañanera to fit her more technocratic style.

But she has kept focus on the protests since, at times bringing them up unprompted at her morning mañaneras even as subsequent attempts to organize demonstrations have fizzled.

That highlights unease within Morena about the demonstrations, one public official who belongs to the party said. The movement launched by AMLO has now held the presidency for seven years, while amassing two-thirds super-majorities in both chambers of Congress and increasing its control of key states.

That enduring popularity, however, left it unprepared for major protests against it, especially because it has long seen street demonstrations as one of its key political weapons, the person said, requesting anonymity to speak frankly.

Other signs of disquiet have also emerged. Last week, Sheinbaum pushed out her attorney general amid frustrations over his handling of the fuel scandal and a probe into an owner of Mexico’s Miss Universe franchise.

The president has urged investigators to keep probing the scandals. But the source of irritation was media leaks about offers of immunity to the owner of the franchise, and potential damage to image of the Mexican winner of the cherished event.

AMLO spoke out Sunday, resurfacing after months of silence to praise Sheinbaum and call for unity while promoting a new book. The sudden reemergence to back his successor was “a sign that Sheinbaum’s political grip is not as strong as it can sometimes appear,” Nicholas Watson, managing director at the U.S.-based political consulting firm Teneo, wrote in a note this week.

“While overall government stability has not been under any real threat, it is a measure of how serious the situation became,” he said.

Sheinbaum’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment. But the president on Thursday called on supporters to attend a weekend demonstration in support of Morena on the seventh anniversary of AMLO taking office.

“This past month we have experienced a barrage of campaigns and slander against what we represent,” she said in a video posted to social media. “They have invented a number of terrible things, all because we are a movement that is now in power and we have never separated ourselves from the people.”

Despite the current difficulties, Sheinbaum remains in a position of envy for other Latin American leaders — even those, like Argentina’s Javier Milei or Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who’ve benefited from rising approval ratings and scored recent victories from Trump.

Economists expect Mexico’s economy to begin rebounding in 2026, and government data shows that homicides fell 37% from September 2024 through the end of October this year. Mexicans are happy with the way Sheinbaum has handled some of the challenges: Nearly 60% say her government has done a good job on the fuel scandal, according to AtlasIntel.

Before leaving for the U.S. she unveiled a bill to reduce the workweek to 40 hours from 48, pitching it as an early Christmas present.

Sheinbaum also remains confident she can reach deals with Trump on trade and security, and said Thursday that she is sure next year’s review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement is “going to come out well.”

But risks remain, even in Washington: While Trump has in the past praised Sheinbaum, the fickle U.S. leader took a dim view of Mexico after the November protests.

“There’s some big problems there,” Trump said two days after the demonstrations. “Let me just put it this way: I am not happy with Mexico.”

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—With assistance from Alex Vasquez.

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