Oct. 1 was a historic day for Mexico and much of the world. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo was inaugurated as the 66th president of Mexico.
Her inauguration was monumental for many reasons. For one, she won the presidency in a landslide, with about 60% of the votes cast going to her – the highest vote percentage in the democracy’s history. She also is the first president of Jewish descent to hold the position. But, above all, she is a she. Seventy-one years after Mexican women won the right to vote, Sheinbaum holds the highest office in Mexico.
The 2024 election would have been historic regardless, given Sheinbaum’s primary competitor, Xóchitl Gálvez, was also a woman. However, Sheinbaum is a lifelong leftist, running on issues surrounding addressing inequalities. Her mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, or AMLO, shares many of her beliefs, but many believe her policies are more data-driven.
Sheinbaum, 61, was born in Mexico City and has a bachelor’s degree in physics, a master’s degree in energy engineering and a PhD. in energy engineering, all from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She moved to California for four years on a UNAM scholarship to complete her doctorate at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.
From 1995-2000 and from 2006-2015, Sheinbaum was a faculty member and researcher at the Institute of Engineering at UNAM, and she has written two books and authored over 100 articles on the environment, sustainable development and energy. She also contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
Sheinbaum is not new to the Mexican political scheme either. She previously served as the mayor of Mexico City and was one of the key leaders who quickly re-purposed the public security center in the nation’s capital to handle emergency calls and coordinate medical assistance during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The security center, known as C5, houses surveillance cameras that were previously used to monitor traffic. C5’s functionality was shifted to ensure emergency vehicles such as ambulances could reach their destinations as quickly as possible.
Additionally, while the federal government was downplaying the danger of COVID-19, Sheinbam expanded Mexico City’s testing regimen. She set limits on the business hours when the virus was spreading, despite Lopez Obrador being against any actions that would hurt the economy.
Sheinbaum’s quick thinking and problem-solving skills were on display during the pandemic, raising hope among many Mexicans about the future of her career and what she could bring to the government.
However, Sheinbaum definitely has her work cut out for her. For starters, Mexico persistently has high levels of violence. Drug cartels and gangs continue to threaten the safety of Mexican citizens. During the voting season, some gangs burned ballots, prevented polling locations from being set up and fired gunshots into campaign rallies.
At the beginning of the month, Alejandro Arcos, the mayor of Chilpancingo (the capital of the state of Guerrero) was murdered less than a week after taking office. The murder was brutal, clearly seeking to make a statement. The city is dominated by two warring drug gangs, the Ardillos and the Tlacos. Arcos ran on the promise of peace and decreasing corruption in the city.
Additionally, Sheinbaum will have to handle constantly being compared to her predecessor, AMLO. She has been labeled as his “puppet,” suggesting some think she will mirror his approach to governing. Furthermore, she will have to navigate being a female ruler in a largely Catholic country known for committing violence against women. More than 3,000 women are murdered in Mexico each year.
Looking forward, Sheinbaum might be just what Mexico needs. However, her time in office will definitely see its fair share of challenges.
Alyssa Cruz is a senior studying journalism and Spanish at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Tell Alyssa by tweeting her at @alyssadanccruz.
