Claudia Sheinbaum, the front runner for Mexico’s next president

By: Claire Zhou

A shopkeeper’s son--who’s outgoing and folksy--and a globally recognized scientist--who’s distant and arrogant--are an unexpected political pair.

However, when it comes to politics, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum are unbeatable.

“Mexico is no longer written with the M of machismo,” Sheinbaum said in the capital as she resigned as the Mexico City mayor “But rather M for mother, for mujer” — woman.

Sheinbaum is now running for president. She would be the first woman and first president from a small Jewish community to have this job.

Both of Sheinbaum’s parents were part of the signature Mexican student movement of 1968. A mass student movement against the military dictatorship that happened in Pakistan. As a high schooler, Sheinbaum participated in protests and movements. And her first husband was also a leader in Mexico’s Democratic Revolution Party.

In 2018, she was elected mayor of Mexico City.

Hardworking Sheinbaum is an uninspiring public speaker. A columnist Juan Ignacio Zavala in El Financiero wrote, “She would put Gandhi to sleep.”

Sheinbaum rarely talks about her personal life, but is very dedicated to her work.