By: Emma Xing

On June 2, 2024, Claudia Shienbaum became the first female president of Mexico. Additionally, she is the first person of Jewish heritage to lead a nation that is mostly Catholic.

This achievement is truly remarkable, considering that women in Mexico only got the right to vote 70 years ago, in 1953. And now there is already a female president.

“For the first time in 200 years of the republic, I will become the first female president of Mexico,” Claudia Sheinbaum said to her supporters. “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.”

But who is Claudia Sheinbaum? She is 61 years old and formerly served as the head of government of Mexico City. She is a climate scientist with a PhD in energy engineering. Much of her career she has dedicated to advocating for the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources.

Claudia Shienbaum will take office on October 1, 2024. But she is already facing many challenges. Violence started to rise in Mexico. She plans to fix this issue by increasing the number of police officers and installing more security cameras across the nation.

Claudia Sheinbaum has also pledged to reduce Mexico’s usage of fossil fuels by 50% during her term. She hopes to achieve this by investing billions into green energy projects as well as improving the transit systems.

Even though she just started her tough job, Claudia Sheinbaum has already made a significant impact. She inspired many young girls and women all around the world.