By: Amelia Xiao

On June 2, 2024, 61-year old Claudia Sheinbaum became the first female president for Mexico. She also made history as the very first person of Jewish heritage to lead a primarily Catholic nation.

Sheinbaum is not a career politician. Before becoming president, Claudia Sheinbaum served as head of government of Mexico City. As a climate scientist with a PhD in energy engineering, she has devoted much of her career to help with the transition of fossil fuels to clean energy resources.

Sheinbaum informed her supporters that “For the first time in 200 years of the republic, I will become the first female president of Mexico. And as I have said on other occasions, I do not arrive alone. We all arrived, with our heroines who gave us our homeland, with our ancestors, our mothers, our daughters, and granddaughters.”

On October 1, 2024, Sheinbaum will take office, where she will be faced with numerous challenges including the rising violence in Mexico. Sheinbaum’s proposal to this matter is to increase the number of police officers and install security cameras to monitor across the nation. Apart from increasing the safety of the nation, Sheinbaum also pledged to reduce Mexico’s dependence on fossil fuels by 50 percent in the following six years by investing billions into green energy projects.

Sheinbaum’s election has made a remarkable impact worldwide. Through Sheinbaum, girls and women globally can see that gender equality is at hand.

87-year-old Edelmira Montiel comments, “I never imagined that one day I would vote for a woman. Before, we couldn’t even vote, and when you could it was for the person your husband told you to vote for. Thank God that has changed and I get to live it.”