Claudia Sheinbaum made history on June 2, 2024, when she became the first female president of Mexico. She is also the first person of Jewish heritage to lead this primarily Catholic nation. Sheinbaum's achievement is even more remarkable considering that women in Mexico only gained the right to vote 70 years ago, in 1953.
"For the first time in 200 years of the republic, I will become the first female president of Mexico," Sheinbaum told 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."
The 61-year-old president-elect most recently served as head of government of Mexico City. However, she is not a career politician. 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.
Sheinbaum, who will take office on October 1, 2024, faces many challenges. Chief among them is the rising violence in Mexico. She plans to combat this issue by increasing the number of police officers and installing security cameras across the nation.
The former climate scientist has also pledged to reduce Mexico's reliance on fossil fuels by 50 percent in the next six years. Sheinbaum hopes to achieve this by investing billions in green energy projects and improving the nation's mass transit systems.
While she has a tough job ahead of her, Sheinbaum has already made a significant impact. The first female president of Mexico has shown girls and women worldwide that gender equality on the global stage is within reach.
"I never imagined that one day I would vote for a woman," said 87-year-old Edelmira Montiel. "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."
Resources: Reuters.com, Washingtonpost.com, Harpersbazaar.com,, BBC.com
