The Future is Female

By Audrey Hwang

In times where women in politics have become increasingly popular, it isn't crazy to believe that there actually is a female president. 

At the beginning of this month, Claudia Sheinbaum was voted into office as the first female Mexican president.

Claudia Sheinbaum was born on June 24, 1962 to a Mexican-Jewish family in Mexico City. She is the 66th president of Mexico as of 2024, and the first woman to hold the office. Before her presidency, she served as Head of Government of Mexico City from 2018-2023.

While her victory was a stunning feat in itself, questions about her competency and the effects from the result of the election still leave lingering thoughts in the minds of people across the globe. This article will answer two of the most prominent questions regarding Mexico’s newest president:

What does this mean for the future of Mexico?

Sheinbaum has stepped into office during one of the worst periods Mexico has every experienced violently. Homicides rates are historically high and femicides have become increasingly normalized.

In her campaign proposals, she recognized insecurity and violence as the main challenges Mexico has to face in order to reach political and social stability. Sheinbaum has proposed plans to create social programs to reduce youth crime. Every step she takes not only paves the way for future women in politics, but also the way to peace that Mexico has been looking for for the last decades.

Her policies look to create a Mexico where women, victims, and feminists form a voice which is heard within the government. She looks to finally give Mexican women the representation they deserve.

How does this impact other women in politics?

Claudia Sheinbaum’s victory shows that progress is happening. Having a female president sends a powerful message to the women of Mexico, opening a door of greater possibilities they didn’t even know existed to them.

Having a female at the top of the power pyramid finally allows for Mexican women to have the attention brought back to them and the rights that they have been asking for since Mexico’s independence. 

For other countries, it shows that anything is possible for women. Presidency isn’t the limit and this is just another example of a woman exceeding in male dominated fields. Claudia Sheinbaum’s story may be an outlier today, but it can be the standard in upcoming years.

With election day coming up soon, the United States is facing its own moment in history. There is a high possibility that the US will elect it’s very first female president. If voters have any worry about the competency of females in high positions, other countries prove that it is possible. 

Women are the future, and it starts now.