Feature

Five things to know about Mexico President-elect Ms. Claudia Sheinbaum

Published

5 months ago

June 6, 2024

Mexico has elected its first female president as preliminary results from the country’s National Electoral Institute show that Claudia Sheinbaum has won more than 59.3% of the vote in Sunday’s presidential election. Sheinbaum, a member of the left-leaning Morena Party, defeated her closest opponent, Bertha Xochitl Galvez Ruiz of the right-leaning National Action Party, by more than 30 percentage points.

Data from security agency Integralia identified this year’s election cycle as the deadliest in Mexico’s history, as it was marked by 37 assassinations of political candidates. This broke the record of 36 assassinations recorded in the 2021 midterm election cycle.

Sheinbaum is not a newcomer to politics, as she served as the Head of Government of Mexico City from 2018-2023. In addition to the notoriety she has received due to the historic nature of her candidacy, Sheinbaum has also developed a reputation as a leader of progressive thought in her country and an influential academic on the world stage. Here are five things to know about the president-elect of Mexico.

READ ALSO

Background in science and engineering

According to a biography on the now-archived version of the Head of Government of Mexico City’s website, Sheinbaum “trained as a physicist in the classrooms of the [National Autonomous University of Mexico] Faculty of Science.” She holds a master’s degree in energy engineering and a doctorate in environmental engineering.

A member of the National System of Researchers and the Mexican Academy of Sciences, Sheinbaum has authored over 100 publications and two books on topics related to energy, the environment and sustainable development.

Additional career highlights preceding her time in public office include membership on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which received a Nobel Peace Prize, and serving as a consultant for the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program.

Identifies as non-religious despite Jewish heritage

In addition to becoming the first female president of Mexico, Sheinbaum is also the first person from a Jewish background to lead the country. However, she has insisted that religion does not play a significant role in her life.

In a 2020 interview with The New York Times, Sheinbaum elaborated on her background.

“Of course, I know where I came from, but my parents were always atheists,” she said. “I never belonged to the Jewish community, and we grew up kind of removed from that.”

Sheinbaum made a similar comment while speaking to a Jewish organization in Mexico City two years earlier, asserting that “I actually grew up without religion; that’s how my parents raised me.” At the same time, she acknowledged that “Culture runs in the blood.”

An outspoken supporter of LGBT advocacy

In an X post last year, Sheinbaum declared that as head of Mexico City’s government, she created “the Comprehensive Health Unit for Trans People.”

“At the end of 2022, 5,101 trans and non-binary people were served free of charge,” the politician wrote, according to an English translation. “My dream is to continue fighting for people of sexual diversity, as I did in Mexico City.”

Sheinbaum posted a series of tweets expressing support for the LGBT pride parade that took place in her city in 2022.

One post included a video documenting several LGBT pride flags and the transgender pride flag flying on buildings in Mexico City, accompanied by a statement from her.

“We are ready for the 44th Pride March,” the statement reads, accompanied by emojis of the two flags that have come to symbolize LGBT advocacy. She also described her city as “a diverse, inclusive city of freedoms.”

Sheinbaum posted images from the parade, painting her city as a “City of rights and freedoms.”

She declared the city’s “commitment to continue advancing the rights of LGBT+ people and an inclusive and diverse society that sanctions all forms of discrimination.”

She also shared an aerial image of the parade, noting, “An influx of 250 thousand people is recorded in the Pride March.”

Another post showed “monuments and buildings” in the city “painted in rainbow colors” to “mark the pride of being a diverse, fraternal and Inclusive city” along with the hashtags #PrideMonth and #Pride2022.

Later in 2022, Sheinbaum praised the legalization of same-sex marriage in two Mexican states.

“Today the entire country advances in equal rights with the approval of equal marriage in Guerrero and Tamaulipas, I celebrate the display of will and the search for justice for all of both state Congresses. Love is love.”

READ ALSO

Supports abortion

Sheinbaum’s Proyecto de Nacion, which includes 100 points that she considers her top priorities, includes a proclamation that “We will guarantee access to women’s health throughout their life cycle, especially with regard to sexual and reproductive health.”

A 2021 decision by the Mexico Supreme Court of Justice, the country’s equivalent to the U.S. Supreme Court, determined that a state law subjecting women who have abortions to criminal punishment was unconstitutional. Sheinbaum shared a video of then-Supreme Court Minister President Arturo Zaldivar announcing the ruling, posting emojis of clapping hands indicating her approval of it.

As explained in a statement announcing the decision, the body “ruled for the first time in favor of guaranteeing the right of women and pregnant people to decide, without facing criminal consequences.” The ruling also determined that a state law limiting abortion to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape was unconstitutional.

Shares Pope Francis’ admiration for ‘humanist thought’

While Sheinbaum regards herself as non-religious, she spoke warmly of an encounter with Pope Francis in an X post published earlier this year.

She highlighted her tendency to include a quote from the pontiff in her speeches: “The only licit way to look at someone from top to bottom is when you give them your hand to get up.”

After describing the quotation as “one of the most profound and beautiful lines about brotherhood and equality I’ve ever heard,” Sheinbaum discussed her one-on-one meeting with Francis.

“It was an exceptional hour that I will never forget, with a simple and warm way that shows its greatness. I brought him some beautiful pieces from the Wixarica people as a gift,” she wrote.

“In addition to being the highest representative of the Catholic Church, the religion of the vast majority of my people, I have deep admiration for his humanist thought,” she added.

Expressing gratitude for the “great life advice” he gave her, Sheinbaum praised the pontiff as “one of the greatest global leaders and thinkers of recent times.”

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com