Claudia Sheinbaum, a former city mayor, environmentalist, and dedicated leftist, was elected as Mexico’s first female president.
Sheinbaum is a close ally of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the granddaughter of Bulgarian and Lithuanian Jewish immigrants.
Pamela Starr, a professor at the University of Southern California, said Sheinbaum, 61, unlike her mentor, is “not a populist.”.
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“She is a mainstream left-wing politician” and is likely to be “less ideological” than the outgoing president, she said.
Sheinbaum was born in Mexico City, and her parents were caught up in the turmoil of the early 1960s, when students and others were trying to end the long power of the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
“At home we talked about politics morning, noon and night,” Claudia Sheinbaum said in a recent biography.
Sheinbaum is remembered as a serious student by Guillermo Robles, her former classmate at Mexico’s prestigious National Autonomous University. “Neither she nor I were that interested in mingling with everybody.”
Robles said. “She never said, ‘I can’t go.’” She went often, especially to rallies.”
Sheinbaum spent a long time working as a researcher in California, where she improved her command of the English language. Her first public position was as environment minister of Mexico City in the early 2000s.
Sheinbaum’s political career has also been marked by controversies and accidents. In 2017, a school in a southern Mexico City district collapsed from a powerful earthquake, killing 26 people, including 19 children, while Sheinbaum was the local mayor.
The following year, Sheinbaum was elected mayor of Mexico City, and denied that her office was behind the construction irregularities.
She used her scientific methods and technological tools in her response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but could not reduce the death toll.
Tatiana Clouthier, a former economy minister and now a spokeswoman for her campaign, said, “Her ability to analyze, read data and find very practical solutions is impressive.”
“Despite being a scientist, she is a social warrior who combines heart and head very well,” Clouthier said.
In 2021, while Sheinbaum was mayor of Mexico City, another accident occurred when part of an elevated subway track collapsed, killing 26 people and injuring many more.
She negotiated with the construction company to compensate victims and avoid lawsuits.
“Governing is about making decisions,” Sheinbaum said. You have to make decisions and deal with the pressures that come with that.”
During several election debates, Sheinbaum was seen avoiding looking at Xochitl Gálvez or even mentioning his name.
Galvez described Sheinbaum as “cold and heartless” and said she did not sympathize with earthquake victims and pediatric cancer patients.
“I would call you the ice lady,” Galvez said.
Sheinbaum has expressed her love for the cause by displaying offbeat humor in TikTok videos, at times hugging and kissing her fans.
Robles is a former classmate of hers who has known Claudia Sheinbaum for nearly 37 years. According to him, success never went to Sheinbaum’s head.
“She loves Mexico. She is not ambitious like many politicians. Claudia is not a far-fetched person like traditional politicians,” he said.