Refer Report

“Presidenta! Presidenta!”

On the morning of the 1st at the Federal House of Representatives in Mexico City, ‘Presidenta’, meaning the first female president in Mexico’s 200-year history, was chanted. Claudia Sheinbaum (62), Mexico’s president-elect, was handed a shoulder belt signifying the office of president on this day and began her six-year term as the first female president. On June 2, President Sheinbaum ran as a presidential candidate for the progressive ruling party, the National Reconstruction Movement, and was elected.

In his inauguration speech, President Sheinbaum said, “We will continue our tradition of prioritizing the interests of the people and caring for the poor first.” The inauguration ceremony was attended by leaders of neighboring countries, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Dasiouba, and the wife of U.S. President Jill Biden. The Mexican government announced that personnel from 105 countries entered the country to celebrate the inauguration. In Korea, Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min attended.

The birth of Mexico’s first female president is also a result of the expansion of women’s political participation that occurred along with institutional democratization. Mexico is known as a country where ‘machoism’ (male chauvinism), which emphasizes masculinity, is prevalent, but gender equality in the political sphere has developed at a rapid pace. The quota system for female candidates is still a recommendation in Korea, but it was already made mandatory in Mexico in 2002. The allocation ratio for female candidates was 30% when the system was first introduced, but is now 50%.

In addition, the Sheinbaum administration also comprised an equal number of men and women in the cabinet. When President Sheinbaum took the oath of office that day, he said, “I came to power together with the anonymous women who fought and forged their own path in Mexico,” the Associated Press reported.

Mexico’s economic and social situation is a big challenge facing the new president. The Financial Times pointed out that President Sheinbaum is inheriting the largest fiscal deficit since the 1980s and reported, “Many regions of Mexico are under the control of drug organized crime groups, and the already weak economy is in decline.”

Reporter Lee Jeong-yeon xingxing@hani.co.kr

Source: Korean