Claudia Sheinbaum is projected to be Mexico’s first woman president, who pledged to continue all of current President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s left-wing populist policies.
She promised to expand on the progress made by Obrador, further building on the welfare programs including universal pension for the elderly and a program that pays youths to apprentice.
The 61-year-old former mayor of Mexico City is currently leading with 58% to 60% of the vote against businesswoman Xochitl Galvez in Sunday’s election, according to preliminary results.
An outgoing ally of leftist President Obrador and a candidate of the ruling Morena party, Sheinbaum will begin her presidency on Oct. 1, once officially confirmed by the Electoral Court.
Sheinbaum served as the first female Mexico City mayor between 2018 and 2023 before her resignation to pursue the presidency.
Her Jewish maternal grandparents immigrated from Bulgaria to Mexico to escape the Nazis. She had a distinguished career as a scientist before entering politics.
Sheinbaum pursued her undergraduate studies in physics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, graduating in 1989. She went on to obtain a master’s degree in 1994 and a Ph.D in 1995, both in energy engineering.
Between 1991 and 1994, Sheinbaum conducted research for her doctoral thesis at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California and became a climate activist, focusing on Mexican energy consumption patterns.
During her victory speech, she emphasized that she would be the first woman president in her country’s 200-year history, viewing it as an achievement not only for herself but for all women.
“I have said it from the start, this is not just about me getting (to the top office), it’s about all of us getting here,” she said.
