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Mexico’s Sheinbaum Takes Office, Making History as First Jewish Woman President
Mexico’s President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City, Mexico, Sept. 25, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Raquel Cunha
When Claudia Sheinbaum takes her oath of office on Tuesday, formally becoming Mexico’s first Jewish woman president, she will adopt a new government logo that nods to the aspirations of young girls.
“A young Mexican woman will be the emblem of Mexico’s government,” Sheinbaum wrote a day earlier in a post on social media, unveiling the logo showing a young woman in profile hoisting a Mexican flag, her hair pulled back into a ponytail not unlike the incoming president’s signature look.
Sheinbaum has embraced her historic feat in one of Latin America’s more socially conservative countries, which until now has been ruled by a series of 65 men since winning its independence from Spain two centuries ago.
The former mayor of the sprawling Mexican capital, Sheinbaum has been bolstered by the popularity of outgoing leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, her political benefactor going back nearly a quarter century.
But as the former climate scientist steps out of her predecessor’s shadow to lead the world’s largest Spanish-speaking nation, Sheinbaum will also face doubts and opposition from critics alarmed by the outgoing president’s 11th-hour reform drive.
Enacted last month, the reforms included a judicial overhaul that will over the next three years replace all of the country’s judges with new jurists elected by popular vote.
“Our hard-won democracy will be transformed, for all practical purposes, into a one-party autocracy,” wrote former President Ernesto Zedillo in a Sunday guest essay for Britain’s Economist Magazine.
Critics of Lopez Obrador and Sheinbaum fear their ruling Morena party has too much power, and that democratic checks on executive power will be undermined.
The judicial overhaul’s implementation will fall to Sheinbaum, who will also face a widening government budget deficit that could crimp popular welfare spending and costly crime-fighting initiatives at a time when the economy is only expected to grow modestly.
The 62-year-old Sheinbaum promised continuity on the campaign trail, and now faces the balancing act of advancing Lopez Obrador’s state-centric economic polices, especially over natural resources such as oil and minerals, while also making progress on issues seen as his weak points like the environment and security.
She also makes history as the first president of Jewish heritage in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country.
A BIGGER LANDSLIDE
Sheinbaum’s inauguration caps an unlikely four-decade climb that has taken the daughter of activist academics to the presidential palace.
Six years ago, she made history as Mexico City’s first elected woman mayor. Until she stepped down last year to run for president, Sheinbaum was known as a data-driven manager, winning plaudits for reducing the megacity’s homicide rate by half, by boosting security spending on an expanded police force with higher salaries.
She has pledged to replicate the strategy across Mexico, where drug cartels exert widespread influence.
Sheinbaum has also promised to continue generous social spending on old-age pensions and youth scholarships, even though the government’s 2024 fiscal deficit is estimated at nearly 6 percent of gross domestic product.
While she has expressed interest growing renewable energy projects, she has also said she will ensure the dominance of Mexico’s state-owned oil and power companies while opposing any privatizations.
In 1995, Sheinbaum earned her doctorate in energy engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and then pursued an academic career, including a stint on the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which later shared a Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice President Al Gore.
She launched her political career in 2000, when Lopez Obrador, then-Mexico City’s newly elected mayor, tapped her to be his environmental chief, tasked with improving the smoggy capital’s air quality, highways and public transport.
Sheinbaum served as the chief spokesperson for Lopez Obrador’s first campaign for president in 2006, which he narrowly lost.
In 2015, she was elected to run Mexico City’s largest borough, Tlalpan, and became the capital’s mayor three years later. That was the same year that Lopez Obrador’s third bid for the presidency ended in his own triumph, winning by a margin of more than 17 million votes.
Last June, Sheinbaum bested her mentor’s margin of victory, polling more than 19 million votes ahead of her closest competitor, who was also a woman.
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Hamas Says Next Hostages to Be Released on Sunday, a Day Later Than Expected
A man looks at pictures and memorabilia related to fallen soldiers, hostages, and people killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, ahead of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at a public square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Shir Torem
A Hamas official said on Monday the Palestinian terrorist group would next release hostages on Sunday, a day later than expected under a complex ceasefire accord reached this month with Israel.
Nahed Al-Fakhouri, head of the Hamas prisoners’ media office, said in a statement the names of Israeli hostages it would release would be provided on Saturday. Israel would similarly disclose the names of Palestinian prisoners to be released under the deal, he said.
“Based on these two lists, the actual implementation will be carried out on Sunday,” Al-Fakhouri said.
Hamas had been expected to release four hostages on Saturday, coinciding with a release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
A senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that as far as Israel was concerned, the deadline for the next hostages to be released by Hamas was Saturday.
“This is the agreement and must be adhered to,” the official told Reuters.
Earlier this month, Israel and Hamas agreed to a three-phase ceasefire that could bring an end to the 15-month war in Gaza. The ceasefire came into effect on Sunday with Hamas releasing three Israeli hostages. Israel also released Palestinian prisoners and detainees, who were largely imprisoned for involvement in terrorist activities.
The ceasefire accord outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and release of hostages taken by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists started the war in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, when they invaded southern Israel, massacred 1,200 people, and kidnapped 251 hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
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Americans Maintain Overwhelming Support for Israel Amid Ceasefire With Hamas, Poll Finds
Pro-Israel rally in Times Square, New York City, US, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
An overwhelming share of the American people remains supportive of Israel in its war against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, according to a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll published over the weekend.
The poll, conducted from Jan. 15-16 among US registered voters, found that 79 percent of Americans support Israel and 21 percent support Hamas, indicating that the Jewish state has remained largely popular with the American public over the course of the 15-month war in Gaza.
Both major political parties strongly back Israel, with 81 percent of Republicans, 75 percent of Democrats, and 80 percent of independents saying that they support it. In contrast, only 25 percent of Democrats, 19 percent of Republicans, and 20 percent of independents responded that they support Hamas, which launched the Gaza war with its invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel maintains strong support among all age brackets, although higher percentages back Hamas among the younger generations. Among those over age 65, the Jewish state enjoys a 90 percent rate of support, compared to only 10 percent of respondents who back Hamas. Among those aged 55-64, 83 percent support Israel and 17 percent support Hamas. Further, among respondents aged 45-54, 77 percent support Israel and 23 percent support Hamas. Seventy-one percent of respondents aged 35-44 support Israel and 29 percent support Hamas.
Israel also enjoys strong support among the youngest age cohorts, despite he prevailing narrative that young Americans are opposed to the Jewish state. According to the poll, 68 percent of respondents aged 25-34 support Israel, compared to 32 percent for Hamas. Likewise, those aged 18-24 support Israel by a margin of 79 to 21 percent.
The poll was conducted days before a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect on Sunday, halting 15 months of war sparked by the terrorist group’s Oct. 7. invasion of the Jewish state. During the onslaught, Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages to Gaza.
Under the ceasefire, Hamas will release 33 hostages over the next six weeks in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners detained in Israel as fighting stops in Gaza. The poll found that 82 percent of respondents support the ceasefire.
In October, a Harvard-Harris poll showed similar results, with Americans indicating support for Israel over Hamas by a margin of 81-19 percent. This was a slight uptick from September, when 79 percent of Americans indicated support for Israel over the terrorist organization.
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American Historical Association Vetoes Defaming Anti-Israel Resolution
Pro-Hamas activists gather in Washington Square Park for a rally following a protest march held in response to an NYPD sweep of an anti-Israel encampment at New York University in Manhattan, May 3, 2024. Photo: Matthew Rodier/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
The American Historical Association (AHA) has vetoed a controversial resolution, passed by its members earlier this month, which falsely accused Israel of sabotaging the higher education system in Gaza during its war to eradicate the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
As previously reported by The Algemeiner, the resolution — titled, “Resolution to Oppose Scholasticide in Gaza” — cited damages sustained by education institutions and loss of life, but rather than describing those misfortunes as inevitable consequences of a protracted war that Hamas started by launching a surprise massacre of Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023, it argued that Israel’s aim was to murder educators and erase Palestinian history and culture.
The measure was, according to numerous groups which commented on it, intemperate and needlessly political, reducing the AHA to a manufacturer of political conformity. On Thursday, the AHA Council, the primary governing body of the organization, addressed that concern in a statement which announced its vetoing of the resolution and stressed the limits of its institutional mission.
“The Council considers the [resolution] … to contravene the Association’s Constitution because it lies outside the scope of the association’s mission and purpose, defined in its Constitution as ‘the promotion of historical studies through the encouragement of research teaching and publication; the collection and preservation of historical documents and artifacts; the dissemination of historical records and information; the broadening of historical knowledge among the general public; and the pursuit of kindred activities in the interest of history,’” the statement said.
It continued, “After careful deliberation and consideration, the AHA Council vetoes the resolution.”
AHA was subject to a flurry of criticism after the resolution passed, with organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) calling on it to reverse course and protect its reputation as a “respected source for evidence-based, nonpartisan historical perspectives for more than a century.” Meanwhile, the National Association of Scholars (NAS), a higher education nonprofit which promotes intellectual freedom and the restoration of academic standards, argued that the resolution was “disgraceful for its unwillingness to state forthrightly Hamas’s culpability for the indeed lamentable destruction of Gaza’s educational infrastructure.”
On Friday, the ADL said “we welcome” the veto of the resolution, adding that it “would not only alienate many members but also deviate from the [its] core purpose and undermine the AHA’s credibility.”
The AHA is not the first professional association for academics to have endorsed partisan attacks on Israel.
In August, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued a statement which endorsed academic boycotts, a seismic decision which overturned decades of policy and cleared the way for scholar-activists to escalate their efforts to purge the university of Zionism and educational partnerships with Israel.
The previous year, members of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) overwhelmingly voted to approve a resolution calling for a full academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions. With the resolution’s approval, the AAA, established in 1902 and based in Arlington, Virginia, became the first major academic professional association to endorse the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel since the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) did in 2022.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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