Claudia Scheinbaum Pardo, President of Mexico

On September 16, 1810, 214 years later, Mexico became an independent republic. First woman elected president.

This is Claudia Scheinbaum Pardo, 61, the 66th President who will take office as head of state and government of the United Mexican States, Latin America’s second largest economy, on October 1, 2024. Jennifer M. Piscopofrom America’s first business ally, Royal Holloway, University of London.

Official data from Mexico’s national electoral body showed that Representative Sheinbaum Pardo of the “Let’s Continue to Make History” coalition, which is made up of the ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena), the Workers’ Party and the Mexican Green Ecological Party, defeated the main rival, Xóchitl Gálvez, the candidate of the Mexican Power and Heart Alliance, which is made up of the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD).

The country that Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo will preside over has 126,014,024 inhabitants, of which 64,540,634 are women and 61,473,390 are men, according to the 2020 Population and Housing Census. While it may seem obvious that she will be the president of all people, it is important to reiterate this when people start to make demands on her achievements, her mistakes and her lack of action for the cause of women (and there will be such demands).

It is important to remember that women in these positions are evaluated more harshly than men and that when it comes to equality, they do the best they can, taking into account the obstacles that come from institutions, culture, and even from their own political allies – to present them with and limit their goals.

A woman who holds the office of president of a country should be expected to develop measures in favor of equality in a greater proportion than is required of the president, as if the latter did not have the same commitment to the citizens and was not obliged, as the first president was, to develop mechanisms for the advancement of women.

It is important to point out that, while the presence of a woman in this position does provide a reference for others, her arrival does not necessarily mean that measures in favor of equality will be enacted or that an agenda in favor of women will be implemented. During the Mexican presidential campaign, different voices from women and the feminist movement stated that simply having a woman as president does not ensure the implementation of a feminist agenda.

It is possible to recall the experiences of women who have served as national executives and whose presence did not imply substantive changes in favor of their peers. In most cases, they were conservatives, members of the right, center-right or Christian Democratic Party. An example is Margaret Thatcher of the British Conservative Party, who repeatedly intervened in debates and denigrated the British feminist movement. In our region, there is the example of Laura Chinchilla, the first (and so far only) President of Costa Rica from the National Liberation Party, who served from 2010 to 2014. Her controversy with women and the feminist movement began during her presidential campaign; some organizations even issued statements stating that this candidate did not represent them as women. These problems became more serious during his term in office.

So, we have to recognize that a woman as president is good news, but it is not enough.

Who is Claudia Scheinbaum Pardo?

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has high academic credentials and wide expertise in environmental issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics, a master’s degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM); researcher at the Institute of Engineering of this institution (currently holds a civil service qualification); member of the National System of Researchers (SNI); author of dozens of scientific publications on energy, environment and economic development, as well as h 23 indexes in Scopus. In addition to this, she has served as a UN advisor on energy and sustainable development and as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel of Experts on Climate Change, which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to make people understand the impacts of climate change. After Pierre Bourdieu, this constitutes part of its cultural capital.

The new president was born in Mexico City, the daughter of a mother, of Jewish descent, the granddaughter of Lithuanian and Bulgarian immigrants, Carlos Sheinbaum Yoselevitz, a chemist, and Annie Pardo Cemo, a biologist, professor emeritus at the Department of Cell Biology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, an institution that has always played an important role in Claudia’s life.

The fact that both his father and mother were scientists undoubtedly had an impact on what Bourdieu called “scientists.” Habits President’s. His socialization took place in the context of his upbringing by scientists and university students who demonstrated a commitment to social struggles and the need to act in politics to achieve social change. president Refers to this influence:

«I am the daughter of 1968, my parents participated in the student movement when I was 6 years old. The Tlatelolco Massacre On October 2, in that movement, my mother was already involved as a teacher (…) So, this duality, between, say, politics, through which we try to change the world, especially our reality, our country, our city, and at the same time this feeling of scientific scholarship is where I grew up.

This influence led her to become a student leader at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and to actively participate in student protests during the presidency of Miguel de la Madrid. Her political presence began in 2000, when she became Minister of the Environment, when Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) was elected head of the government of the Federal District (now Mexico City). Since then, he has been part of the outgoing Mexican president’s team. In 2012, he was a member of López Obrador’s presidential campaign team and one of the founders of the National Renewal Movement (Morena).

In 2015, with Morena’s support, she was elected head of the Tlalpan delegation. In 2018, she won the elections, becoming the first woman elected head of the Mexico City government, and she resigned from that position in June 2023 to be able to participate in the presidential elections. This shows that Sheinbaum Pardo is not a newcomer in political life. His more than 20 years of political activity, holding public office and elected office prove this.

Women’s capacity to govern and the persistence of gender stereotypes

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo’s career shows that she has not only academic skills but also political experience; he won two elections, including the mayoralty of the most important city in Mexico. However, like her opponent, Xochitl Gálvez, head of the Miguel Hidalgo delegation, elected Senator of the Republic in 2018, her ability to govern has been questioned countless times, which shows the persistence of stereotypes of the genre.

During the election, one question was repeatedly raised and dominated many social media headlines: Is Mexico ready for a female president? This reflects the persistence of traditional roles for men and women and resistance to change.

Asking women about their abilities or speaking openly about their ability to govern, their political inexperience, shows that in the 21st century, regulation has changed – we must not forget that in 2019 Mexico had a constitutional reform that established equality between men and women. If the social imaginary is not transformed and the idea that the political space is the space for women is internalized, women will continue to be insufficient in all public positions at all levels and in all powers.

This is sexist by observing that when it comes to men, you can disagree with their practices but their ability to govern is not questioned because they are men. The same thing happens when it is shown that women will follow the “orders” of a man who supports their electoral victory.

In the case of Claudia Sheinbaum and Xochitl Gálvez, during the presidential campaign, there were hints that they were following the “instructions” of certain politicians. In the case of the first example, Lopez Obrador “designated” her for some as the chosen one, his favorite, and the one who would succeed him. In addition, the president-elect has repeatedly stated that she will continue the so-called “fourth transformation” policies implemented by the outgoing president.

In the case of Xochitl Gálvez, she is said to have received instructions from the nobles who headed the political parties that formed the coalition that supported her. In both cases, the policies were subordinated and their institutional capacity to make decisions on their own was unknown. This does not deny that both had to act in a system dominated by men and had to obtain the approval of the leaders of the organizations that supported their candidacy.

The double standard in evaluating men and women is again evident when people believe that the new president will follow the orders of Obrador, without considering that the outgoing president in general has some “dolphins” or candidates of their choice, but this does not mean that if he wins, he will blindly follow the orders of the next in office. In addition, as Yanina Welp said, Albert Hirschman Center for the Study of Democracy, Graduate School, In Latin America, former presidents rarely control the president in power (in this case, the president).

challenge

In a society as complex as Mexico’s, the president has to face many challenges, but it is undeniable that among them are those related to violence or multiple violence, which have been highlighted by his numerous demonstrations, including those targeting women for gender reasons.

On this last point, feminists argue that the new president’s proposals do not include strong measures to combat this scourge, which has made Mexico one of the most dangerous countries for women, with 10 women murdered every day.

It is too early to talk about strategy and the direction that will be followed. What is certain is that the new president, in addition to the problems that any president must face as head of government and state, will have to overcome the additional obstacles that come with being a woman. There is no doubt that a new page will be turned in the political history of Mexico.

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Written by Dhayana Fernández Matos, PhD in Political Science. Research Professor at the Central University of Venezuela and Simón Bolívar University (Colombia). Member of the HILA Network and the #NoSinMujeres Network of Political Scientists.