Mexico elects Claudia Sheinbaum as president to the congratulations of Jeremy Corbyn

Mexico has elected Claudia Sheinbaum as president with the country’s all-time largest mandate, according to preliminary results.

Claudia Sheinbaum elected

Jeremy Corbyn and Yanis Varoufakis were among those congratulating Mexico’s first female president. Former Greek finance minister Varousfakis said her presidency represented “a rare glimmer of hope in a bleak era”.

Claudia Sheinbaum has said she will continue the work of predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (known as AMLO). AMLO increased Mexico’s minimum wage from 88 pesos (£3.90) in 2018 to 248.93 pesos (£11) in 2024.

Sheinbaum, a former Mexico City mayor, has pledged to continue such increases. As part of her 100-point plan, Sheinbaum also promised an expansion of public healthcare, building a million affordable homes and constructing long-distance train lines.

Sheinbaum is a climate scientist who has also contributed to multiple reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

With that in mind, she has pledged £10.6bn for renewable energy by 2030. And she aims for 50% of Mexico’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030.

Alonso Romero, the Sheinbaum campaign’s energy ambassador, told New Republic:

It’s cheaper and more efficient to implement these policies through state-owned companies… We believe that state-owned companies have a longer-term horizon that can sustain these kinds of investments. Sometimes private companies don’t, or the investment and return horizons are not within the range that investors are expecting, so they need to be incentivized and subsidized

But Romero still believes there is a significant role for the private sector in energy. Research, meanwhile, suggests that state-owned utilities “have a higher tendency to invest in renewables”.

Mexico’s progressive future?

When it comes to Israel and Palestine, Mexico recently announced it seeks to join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice that accuses Israel of genocide. It’s unclear how Sheinbaum will approach Israel’s genocidal assault as president, but she previously wrote:

Because of my Jewish origin, because of my love for Mexico and because I feel like a citizen of the world, I share with millions the desire for justice, equality, fraternity and peace… No reason justifies the murder of Palestinian civilians.

AMLO introduced policies that tackle inequality in Mexico. Now Sheinbaum can build on the platform in a presidency that’s connected to social movements in the country.

Featured image via WSJ – YouTube