Mexico’s First Female President Is Coming

Known as “la Doctora” for her glittering academic credentials, Claudia Sheinbaum is a physicist with a doctorate in energy engineering, the former mayor of one of the world’s most populous cities, and was part of the United Nations panel of climate scientists that received a Nobel Peace Prize.

And on Sunday, she became the first woman, and the first of Jewish heritage, to be elected president of Mexico.

Sheinbaum won around 60% of the vote in the largest election in Mexico’s history, marking a historic achievement in a mostly Catholic country known for its deeply patriarchal culture.

The 61-year-old is set to replace the outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, her longtime ally whose social welfare programs lifted many Mexicans out of poverty, making their leftist Morena party favorite in the polls.

“Our duty is and will always be to look after every single Mexican without distinction,” Sheinbaum said in a speech early Monday morning. “Even though many Mexicans do not fully agree with our project, we will have to walk in peace and harmony to continue building a fair and more prosperous Mexico.”

After her maternal grandparents emigrated from Europe to escape the Holocaust, Sheinbaum was born in Mexico City in 1962 – a city she would go on to serve in various roles across decades.

While studying for her undergraduate degree at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), she became immersed in student politics, protesting against the privatization of public education. After graduating, she studied energy engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where she became fluent in English and earned a Master’s degree, before returning to UNAM for doctoral studies.

Sheinbaum entered politics in 2000, when she was appointed environment secretary of Mexico City by Obrador, then the head of the city’s government.

Source: CNN