The year 2024 is a historic one for democracy, globally. According to the organisation CHEQUEANDO, this year will be, by curious coincidence, an election year for nearly 100 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. The fact which marks electoral history in Mexico is that a woman occupies the highest command of the executive branch in a rare first!
The day she entered the battlefield (otherwise termed as electoral system), everyone knew that her victory was inevitable! She campaigned in each and every corner of her country before the Presidential Elections. Instead of using special aircraft, she travelled on commercial flights with common passengers and met her countrymen. The people of Mexico realised that 61-year-old Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (b. June 24, 1962) was about to create history! They were right! Sheinbaum has become the first woman President of Mexico, defeating her rival quite easily. The difference in percentage of votes between Sheinbaum and her main rival is about 30%!
Sheinbaum's political mentor is said to be outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (popularly known by his initials AMLO). In other words, AMLO's protégé has replaced him. Political analysts have stated that whatever Sheinbaum, the scientist-academic-turned-politician, will do over the next six years, Mexico shall forever remember her for challenging the patriarchal culture of the Central American country. Before joining politics, she did research on Energy Engineering and authored at least 100 research articles, as well as books. She has also worked with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Sheinbaum has yet to explain how she will run the government. While AMLO declared that his aim was to trigger the Fourth Transformation, Sheinbaum stressed that a pension scheme for senior citizens, financial support to students and financial assistance to every family would not be enough! On June 3 (2024), she told BBC: "The essence of this transformation is to separate economic power from political power. Economic power has its path, but the government must be directed towards the poor in Mexico." Although Sheinbaum admitted that outgoing President Obrador laid the foundations and built the first floor of the project, she claimed that her government would build on the changes made by her predecessor. "It means more rights, a welfare state, education, health, access to housing, and that a living wage is a right, not a privilege. That is the difference between neoliberalism and our model, which we call Mexican Humanism," she added.
Sheinbaum's victory is an emotional moment for the entire Central American country. The rise of a woman in Mexico's male-dominated politics is indeed remarkable. In a sense, she has broken Mexico's political glass ceiling. Earlier, Sheinbaum served as the first female mayor of Mexico City. Now, she is all set to stay at the National Palace of Mexico City for the next six years!
There are three significant changes (or transformations) in the history of Mexico: Independence in 1810, the Reform War (and separation of Church and State) of 1858 and the 1910 Mexican Revolution. Outgoing President Obrador planned to bring the Fourth Transformation (4T) by resolving the socio-economic problems. However, the Oppositions have claimed that the 4T is a "delusion" of AMLO and Sheinbaum who tried to grab public attention ahead of the Presidential Polls by highlighting the social agenda. According to the Oppositions, AMLO and Sheinbaum have oversimplified the social issues by claiming that the 4T could resolve all those problems.
Political analysts expect nothing new from the newly-elected President, as Sheinbaum has stressed: "I will govern with the same principles as Mr López Obrador, and that is a good thing for the Mexicans."
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