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Mexico has a new president. Claudia Sheinbaum won the country’s presidential elections this past weekend, becoming the first female president in Mexico’s history.
Reuters reports that Sheinbaum won the election with a percentage between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote. Interestingly enough, her biggest competition was another female candidate, Xochitl Galvez, who took between 26.6% and 28.6% of the vote.
Scroll down to learn more about Sheinbam:
Sheinbaum is a physicist
Before her involvement in politics, Sheinbaum earned degrees as a physicist from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She then acquired a Doctorate degree in energy engineering from the University of California. Her scholarly background has granted her the nickname “La Doctora.”
Sheinbaum’s achievements are lenghty, including being the head of the government of Mexico City and being a part of the United Nations panel of climate scientists that received a Nobel Peace Prize.
Her first statements as president
“For the first time in the 200 years of the republic I will become the first woman president of Mexico,” said Sheinbaum to her supporters earlier this weekend.
After the election results were confirmed, she shared a brief speech this Monday morning, stating that her government’s role was to look out for the Mexican people as a whole. “Even though many Mexicans do not fully agree with our project, we will have to walk in peace and harmony to continue building a fair and more prosperous Mexico,” said Sheinbaum, according to CNN.
The public’s support
Women, especially older women, seem happy and surprised by the election’s result, claiming that it’s a development that they never would have expected when they were younger.
“I never imagined that one day I would vote for a woman,” said 87-year-old Edelmira Montiel, to Reuters. “Before we couldn’t even vote, and when you could, it was to vote for the person your husband told you to vote for. Thank God that has changed and I get to live it.”