Can scientist Claudia Sheinhaum reach new heights?
Speculation rises if Mexico City mayor may be the first female president
MEXICO CITY » Mexico is a year away from electing its next head of state and the potential candidate getting the most attention is an environmental scientist who might become the first female leader of Latin America’s second-largest economy.
One poll shows Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum nearly 20 points ahead of her closest rival in their ruling party.
A globally recognized scientist, Sheinbaum, 60, shares the leftist ideals of President Andrés Manuel
López Obrador. In an interview with The Associated Press Sheinbaum, like López Obrador, blamed the neoliberal economic policies of past presidents for exacerbating inequities.
But the leaders would diverge on their approach.
López Obrador has sought to create jobs regardless of their environmental consequences, dedicating resources to propping up Mexico’s stateowned oil company before supporting a few projects by American renewableenergy companies. In contrast, Sheinbaum holds a PhD in engineering, served on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that won a shared Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, and pledges to commit Mexico to sustainability.
She emphasizes her belief in all scientific findings, in fields from the environment to medicine.
“I believe in science,” she said. “I believe in technology to have a better life.”
López Obrador last year inaugurated a massive new oil refinery in his home state of Tabasco, saying that his government had decided to ignore “the siren calls ... that the oil era was over.”
Despite the refinery’s inauguration, it has not started operation.
At the same time, López Obrador has passed laws putting private gas and renewable energy facilities last in line for power purchasing, behind government-owned plants that often burn dirty fuel oil. He has more recently applauded a new governmentrun solar facility in northern Mexico and celebrated Tesla’s decision to build a car manufacturing plant near Monterrey, moves seen as feeding his interests in fueling job growth and satisfying U.S. complaints about a lack of free trade.
Sheinbaum has said her belief in renewable energy is fundamental.
“I think we have to start growing more in renewable energy and to go ahead with the electrification of cars,” Sheinbaum said. “From now to the future, most of the energy has to be related to renewable energy.”
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheinbaum took up wearing a protective mask, shut down bars and nightclubs, later reducing their hours, and pushed for more COVID-19 testing. While López Obrador downplayed the threat and spoke of being protected by amulets, Sheinbaum made no direct criticism of the president.
Now Sheinbaum is locked in what appears to be a three-way battle for the nomination of their party, Morena, which has an unrivaled political machine. If successful, she would be expected to easily overcome the legacy opposition parties struggling to present a credible alternative.
The other contenders for the Morena party’s nomination are Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard and Interior Secretary Adán Augusto López. Ebrard was seen as the most likely successor at the start of López Obrador’s term in late 2018 but in a survey conducted by pollster Enkoll between Feb. 4-7, Sheinbaum held an 18-point lead over Ebrard.