Written by David Ariar Garcia
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – When Claudia Sheinbaum takes the oath of office on Tuesday, officially becoming Mexico’s first female president, she will adopt a new government logo that reflects the aspirations of young girls. .
“A young Mexican woman will be the symbol of the Mexican government,” Sheinbaum wrote in a social media post the day before, unveiling a logo featuring a profile of a young woman with her hair tied up in a ponytail holding a Mexican flag. did. The president-elect’s signature look.
Sheinbaum praised the historic achievement in one of Latin America’s most socially conservative countries, which has been ruled by 65 men since gaining independence from Spain two centuries ago. .
Sheinbaum, a former mayor of Mexico’s vast capital, is buoyed by the popularity of her political benefactor for nearly a quarter of a century, outgoing leftist President Andres Manuel López Obrador.
But as the former climate scientist steps out of his predecessor’s shadow to lead the world’s largest Spanish-speaking nation, Mr. Sheinbaum faces questions and opposition from critics wary of the outgoing president’s 11th-hour reform push. will face it.
The reforms, which took effect last month, include judicial reforms that will replace all judges in the country with new jurists elected by popular vote over the next three years.
“Our hard-won democracy will effectively turn into a one-party dictatorship,” former President Ernesto Zedillo wrote in a Sunday guest essay in Britain’s Economist magazine.
Critics of López Obrador and Sheinbaum worry that the ruling Morena party has too much power and undermines democratic checks on executive power.
It will be up to Mr. Sheinbaum to carry out judicial reforms, but he also warns that welfare spending and costly anti-crime efforts could be strained at a time when the economy is expected to grow only slowly. The government will also face a widening budget deficit.
Mr. Sheinbaum, 62, has vowed to continue campaigning, but now promotes Mr. López Obrador’s state-centric economic policies, particularly natural resources such as oil and minerals, which are seen as his weakness. We are faced with a balancing act of trying to make progress on the issue. Points such as environment and security.
She also made history as the first president of Jewish descent in this predominantly Roman Catholic country.
even bigger landslide
Sheinbaum’s inauguration ends an unlikely 40-year climb that took the daughter of an activist academic to the presidential palace.
Six years ago, she made history as Mexico City’s first female mayor. Until he resigned last year to run for president, Mr. Sheinbaum was known as a data-driven executive who cut murder rates in large cities in half by raising salaries and increasing security spending for expanded police departments. won praise.
She promised to replicate the strategy across Mexico, where drug cartels have widespread influence.
Sheinbaum also said he would continue generous social spending on things like old-age pensions and youth scholarships, even though the government’s 2024 budget deficit is estimated at nearly 6% of gross domestic product (GDP). I promised.
While he has expressed an interest in expanding renewable energy projects, he also said he would protect the dominance of Mexico’s state-run oil and power companies while opposing any privatization.
In 1995, Sheinbaum earned a doctorate in energy engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and went on to pursue an academic career that included a stint on the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and later with former U.S. Vice President Al. We shared the Nobel Peace Prize. Gore.
She began her political career in 2000, when Mexico City’s then-new mayor, López Obrador, appointed her as environmental director, overseeing the capital’s smog-ridden air quality, highways and public transportation. The mission was to improve the institution.
Sheinbaum served as López Obrador’s chief press secretary during his first presidential campaign in 2006, but he narrowly lost.
In 2015, she was elected mayor of Tlalpan, the largest municipality in Mexico City, and three years later became the mayor of Mexico. This was the same year that López Obrador’s third presidential bid ended in victory by more than 17 million votes.
Last June, Sheinbaum won by a wide margin over the leader, beating her closest rival, who was also a woman, by more than 19 million votes.
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
