Claudia Sheinbaum has made history as Mexico’s first female president, a historic achievement in a country that has had 65 male presidents since its independence more than 200 years ago. The 62-year-old former mayor of Mexico City was inaugurated on October 1, 2024, as her fans cheered her name during the inauguration. In her first speech, Sheinbaum focused on the change and said, “Now it is time for change; now it is time for women.”.
Sheinbaum’s academic background as a climate scientist and her degree in energy engineering made her different from other politicians who rely on populist slogans. She was devoted to science as a mayor who used data to control the COVID-19 pandemic, although the national strategy was different from the previous head of state, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
During her first speech, Sheinbaum presented a number of goals, including 100 initiatives for the development of healthcare, education, and housing, as well as the stabilisation of the prices for food products. These actions show her desire to keep up with López Obrador’s social initiatives while attending to urgent matters such as crime and economic stability.
People of Mexico have high expectations from Sheinbaum’s presidency as the country is plagued with high levels of gang-related crime and a large fiscal imbalance, which she intends to decrease from 5.9% to 3.5% of the GDP. Her budget that is scheduled for presentation on November 15 will be keenly watched by critics to determine her seriousness in these goals.
She has been a staunch leftist in her political career, which she said has been shaped by her parents’ activism in the 1968 students’ movement. When Sheinbaum assumes this new position, her management style is expected to be one that maintains the status quo and, at the same time, introduces innovations with regard to the management of the city’s affairs in line with the experience and guidance of her predecessor.
