Who is Claudia Sheinbaum?
Born in Mexico City in 1962, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and became a researcher on climate and energy. She was the capital's environment secretary during Andrés Manuel López Obrador's time there, then mayor of the Tlalpan borough before governing Mexico City as Head of Government from 2018 to 2023. Morena nominated her for the June 2024 presidential election, which she won on a promise to carry on López Obrador's programmes, including old-age pensions and paid apprenticeships for the young. On 1 October 2024 she became the first woman to serve as Mexico's president. As of October 2026, government press releases still show her in the post.
Previously: Head of Government of Mexico City (2018-2023) · Mayor of the Tlalpan borough of Mexico City (2015-2017) · Environment Secretary of Mexico City (2000-2006) · Energy and environmental engineering researcher
Documented positions
- She pledged to retain the universal old-age pensions and the paid youth apprenticeships begun by her predecessor.Source: france24.com
- Under her energy reform Pemex and the CFE became state-owned public companies, and the state is to keep a minimum 54 percent share of electricity generation.Source: dwfgroup.com
- She backed dissolving several autonomous regulators, the transparency institute INAI among them, arguing that this would reduce bureaucracy and spending.Source: aljazeera.com
- She described the June 2025 judicial vote as a complete success even though turnout was 13 percent; it was the country's first election of judges by popular ballot.Source: aljazeera.com
- Planting genetically modified corn became unconstitutional after she signed a ban in March 2025.Source: seedworld.com
- She backed tariffs of as much as 50 percent, approved in December 2025, aimed at goods from countries that lack trade agreements with Mexico.Source: ttnews.com
- The Chamber of Deputies voted down, in March 2026, her electoral reform proposal to reduce Senate seats and party funding.Source: mexiconewsdaily.com
- Betssy Chávez, who had been Peru's prime minister, received asylum from her government; Peru responded by severing ties and declaring Sheinbaum persona non grata.Source: aljazeera.com
Record
Constitutional changes that extended social programmes were passed by her government, which also gave the Defence Ministry control of the National Guard. It negotiated with the Trump administration on tariffs, migration and cartels, and in 2025 it sent troops to the northern border. Supporters point to her first-year approval ratings, minimum wage increases and social spending.
Critics point to ongoing violence and to the dissolving of autonomous watchdogs. They also point to the judicial election, described by opponents as a farce, with UN experts warning that organised crime could infiltrate it. In March 2026 the Labor and Green parties, normally her allies, held back their support for the electoral reform, which became her first defeat in Congress. The Senate afterwards approved a narrower plan without her proposal to bring forward the presidential recall vote.