Congratulations to Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo who is the first woman president of Mexico! She is set to begin a six-year term on October 1. Born 24 June 1962, this dynamic powerhouse is a seasoned politician, scientist, and academic.
Career
Sheinbaum served as secretary of the environment (2000-2006) under Andrés Manuel López Obrador during his tenure as head of government of Mexico City. From 2015-2017, she was delegational chief of the Tlalpan borough. From 2018, she served as head of government of Mexico City. During her 2018 campaign, Sheinbaum emphasised curbing crime and enforcing zoning laws.
Education
Sheinbaum studied physics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where she earned an undergraduate degree in 1989 then a master’s degree in 1994. A scientist by profession, in 1995, Sheinbaum received her Doctor of Philosophy in energy engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She has authored over 100 articles and two books on energy, the environment, and sustainable development. She contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 2018 was named one of the BBC’s 100 Women.
2024 elections
In June 2024, she won the general election in a landslide. After she assumes office, she will be the first female president of Mexico, a country known for it’s patriarchal society and traditional values.
Sheinbaum won the presidency with between 58.3 per cent and 60.7 per cent of the vote, according to a rapid sample count by Mexico’s electoral authority. That is set to be the highest vote tally percentage in Mexico’s democratic history.
Mexico’s largest elections have also been the most violent in modern history, with the killing of 38 candidates. The deadly violence highlights the threat of warring drug cartels to democracy.
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