Women making strides anywhere is a win for women everywhere. Mexico has recently named its first female president, Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum. AP News notes she will be the first woman to lead Mexico in its 200-year history.
While many in the United States celebrate that a woman is leading one of Latin America’s largest economies, the discourse around her win has been divided.
Who is Claudia Sheinbaum?
According to Axios, the climate scientist born in Mexico City in 1962 is the first Jewish person to be elected to the country’s highest office. The New York Times reports that her grandparents immigrated to Mexico from Lithuania and Bulgaria.
Like her, Sheinbaum’s parents both work in STEM. Her father, Carlos Sheinbaum Yoselevitz, is a businessman and chemical engineer. Her mother, Annie Pardo Cemo, is a biologist and professor emeritus at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
The New York Times reports that because of her Jewish background, she faced xenophobia and antisemitism when she emerged as a possible presidential contender.
Vicente Fox, a former president who leans toward the conservative side, was quoted as calling her a “Bulgarian Jew.” In addition to this, she received comments questioning the legitimacy of her Mexican birth.
The former Mexico City mayor received a physics degree and a PhD in energy engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She also spent some years doing energy engineering research at the University of California, Berkeley, per Reuters.
She also worked on the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2006 as part of a team that would win a Nobel Peace Prize for their work.
Sheinbaum is perceived to be a continuation of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s policies
Vox reports that the president-elect got her political feet wet as outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador‘s environment minister during his time as Mexico City’s mayor. Since then, the publication notes, Sheinbaum has seemingly been in the shadow of López Obrador, also known as AMLO.
The publication cites that much of the president-elect’s success has ridden off AMLO’s popularity among his constituents in Mexico, especially since she was his handpicked successor.
Christian Lawrence, a strategist at Rabobank, told Bloomberg in March, “It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that Sheinbaum will be a continuation of the status quo.”
Despite her close connection, Vox posits that Sheinbaum will still encounter hurdles should she enact her own policies due to AMLO’s machinations before leaving office. Vox reports that he “determined the political agenda for the next two years.”
How did he do this? The publication adds that he did this “by placing all of these incredibly complex policies and reforms, many of which can damage democracy, putting them in under a new legislative bill.”
Those enacted policies and reforms could prove an uphill battle for Sheinbaum after she gets sworn in as president.
Under AMLO, Mexico’s “cartel crisis” exacerbated
Another major hurdle Sheinbaum will face will be addressing the violence currently entrenching the country. Associated Press reporter Megan Janetsky told Vox’s Sean Rameswaram that “cartels and other criminal groups” have grown in power within Mexico.
AP News reports that AMLO said in April that the cartels are “respectful people” who “respect the citizenry.” The publication cites that instead of taking the cartel head-on, the outgoing president opted for his “Hugs, not bullets” policy, claiming that many end up in crime syndicates due to lack of opportunity.
According to Vox, his policy has not had the desired effects. There wasn’t any “significant drop in homicides,” as the country experiences roughly 30,000 crime-related deaths a year.
Mexico has an average of one journalist death per week, and 14 political candidates were killed during the most recent election cycle.
Sheinbaum has proclaimed she will tackle this issue; however, not much clarity has been given on how.
During a May debate, she said, “We are going to rescue young people from the clutches of criminal gangs, and we’re going to give them support.”
What does that look like? According to Sheinbaum, she will be extending more resources to the National Guard, which could lend itself to over-policing.
Not everyone is thrilled about her presidential win
Mexican-born cosmetologist and esthetician Mariel Ochoa comments on an E! Now Latino post sharing her thoughts on Sheinbaum’s win.
“I don’t feel the triumph because, as a woman, she doesn’t represent me,” Ochoa commented.
Another person said, “Mexico has just chosen the road to dictatorship!”
“Mexico is in mourning,” Lili Covarrubias added.
Irene Zavala noted, “Welcome to another six-year term full of fraud, lies, corruption, inflation, deforestation, shortages, delinquency.”
“Why go on, poor Mexico,” she continued.
However, not everyone felt the same way about Sheinbaum’s win.
“I do want a scientist for president, much success, president,” someone commented on the post.
An X user shared, “Long live Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum!!!!”
“Claudia Sheinbaum wins the elections in Mexico… Better this one than a Christian Democrat,” another X user added.
User @TuVicky1 commented, “The victory of the Mexican people and Claudia Sheinbaum is a celebration of democracy and citizen participation. Congratulations! #SanciónCero“
