By: Jeremy Sun

On June 2, 2024, 62 year old Claudia Sheinbaum made history by becoming Mexico’s first female president, winning with 58% of the votes. She is additionally the initial individual of Jewish descent to lead this predominantly Catholic nation.

Sheinbaum’s accomplishment is particularly notable given that Mexican women gained suffrage only 71 years ago, in 1953. According to the article “Claudia Sheinbaum Is Mexico’s First Female President” by Marcela Bone, Sheinbaum affirms, “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.”

President Sheinbaum was most recently the head of government of Mexico City. However, she is not a career politician. In her article, Bone states, “Sheinbaum is a climate scientist with a PhD in energy engineering. She has dedicated much of her career to advocating for the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources.”

Scheduled to assume office on October 1, 2024, Sheinbaum faces numerous challenges, with escalating violence in Mexico chief among them. Her strategy to address this issue involves bolstering police forces and implementing nationwide security camera installations.

The former climate scientist has committed to cutting Mexico’s dependence on fossil fuels by half within the next six years. She plans to accomplish this goal through substantial investments in green energy projects and enhancements to the country’s mass transit systems.

Claudia Sheinbaum has a challenging job ahead of her, but she has already made an excellent start. Becoming the first female president of Mexico proves to girls and women worldwide that gender equality on the global stage is within reach.