Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in as President of Mexico

The center-left Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in as President of Mexico yesterday, becoming the country’s first female head of state in a nation facing significant issues with violence against women. She is among the most qualified global leaders on climate issues, having a PhD in energy engineering and participating in the Nobel Peace Prize-winning UN climate science team.

As mayor of Mexico City (2018-2023), she supported the creation of a special prosecutor’s office for femicides, helping to reduce their occurrence by 34%. Of the more than 3,000 murders of women in Mexico each year, 24% are officially classified as femicides, though organizations estimate the actual figure to be closer to 50%, according to Εl Pais.

The new president also faces other challenges, such as large drug cartels, the migration crisis, and the budget deficit.

During her time as mayor, she introduced public transportation reforms that reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 35,000 tons annually, improved air quality, and invested in solar energy by establishing one of the city’s world’s largest solar parks.

She replaces her political mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, from the Morena party and has vowed to continue his social policies despite the challenges ahead. These include the annual increase in the minimum wage, and she plans to implement additional social measures, such as deploying 20,000 doctors and nurses starting in 2025 to visit elderly Mexicans in their homes, in an effort to reverse the decline in access to public healthcare seen in recent years.