Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first woman president-elect and first Jewish president, has a background in environmental policy with experience working for the Nobel-winning United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Sheinbaum holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in energy engineering. She served as the secretary of the environment for Mexico City from 2000 to 2006 under then-Head of Government Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is now the outgoing president. After her time in that role, she worked as a researcher at the IPCC and contributed to its 2007 and 2014 assessments.
During her campaign, Sheinbaum expressed support for transitioning to renewable energy sources while also stressing the importance of maintaining fossil fuel infrastructure. She has proposed investing over $13 billion in renewables, but she has also committed to upholding anti-privatization policies put in place under Obrador, which could hinder American investment in Mexico’s energy sector.
Sheinbaum is considered a close ally and protege of Obrador, but her stance on climate change and renewables differs from the Obrador administration’s focus on expanding fossil fuels. Obrador has prioritized increasing Mexico’s energy independence through oil and gas development, rejecting the idea of a transition to electric cars and renewable energies.
Obrador, a center-left populist, has justified his support for fossil fuels in economic nationalist terms, aiming to reverse neoliberal policies that allowed private investors to access Mexico’s oil production. However, Sheinbaum believes that transitioning to renewable energy sources is necessary to combat climate change and reduce dependence on foreign oil imports.
