After confirming his victory in last Sunday’s elections, Claudia Sheinbaum became the first female president of Mexico. In this way, the scientist also joins the short list of women elected presidents in Latin America.
“I am also grateful because, for the first time in 200 years of the Republic, I will become the first female president of Mexico. And, as I have said on other occasions, I do not arrive alone, we all arrive with our heroines who gave us our homeland, with our ancestors,” Sheinbaum declared in this regard.
Claudia thus joined the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castrowho took office in 2022 as the winner of the previous year’s elections; and to that of Peru, Dina Boluartewho also became president in 2022 but for constitutional successionafter the dismissal of Pedro Castillo due to a self-coup.
Women presidents in Latin America
Who was the candidate of the ruling party in Mexico is the first woman to be the president of her country, however, she is not the first to come to power in Latin America.
Prior to your election, seven women had already acquired the title of presidents in Latin America: Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, Mireya Moscoso, Michelle Bachelet, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Laura Chinchilla, Dilma Rousseff and Xiomara Castro.
Barrios de Chamorro was the first woman to be elected president in Latin America. She was the president of Nicaragua during the period from 1990 to 1997, details the BBC.
She belonged to the National Opposition Union Party, and was director of the newspaper “The Press” from 1978 to 1990, adds the same medium. At the end of her term, Violeta retired from politics.
Mireya Moscoso She became the president of Panama in 1999, and governed until 2004 alongside the Arnulfista Party. She was the wife of Arnulfo Arias Madrid, who was in charge of the same country on three previous occasions.
Moscoso built her career in politics after the death of her husband, thus becoming the heir to Arias’ political legacy, according to the aforementioned portal. Mireya won in those elections against Martín Torrijos, son of the former Panamanian dictator, Omar Torrijo, CNN adds.
Continuing with the list, Michelle Bachelet He came to power in Chile on two occasions alongside the Socialist Party: during the period 2006-2010, and 2014-2018.
The doctor was also director of UN Women from 2011 to 2013, and was also UN High Commissioner for Human Rights between 2018 and 2023.
Cristina Fernández de KirchnerFor her part, she also led Argentina in two periods: from 2007 to 2012, and from 2012 to 2015. Cristina was also First Lady between 2003 and 2007, as well as a representative, senator and vice president from 2020 to 2023.
In the case of Laura Chinchillawe are talking about the first female president of Costa Rica, who governed from 2010 to 2014.
Already in 2006 she had been elected vice president of her country, at the same time assuming the position of Minister of Justice. “Finally, in 2010 she became president of the country with the 47% of the votes“, reports the BBC.
Dilma Rousseff He had two terms in Brazil: from 2011 to 2014, and from 2015 to 2016 (which he did not finish). Rousseff was elected in 2011 as successor to Ignacio Lula da Silva, with the support of the Brazilian Workers Party (PT).
The president could not complete her second term because she was taken to political trial and dismissed in 2016 by the Senate, under the argument of “having violated budgetary rules,” CNN and the BBC report.
Finally, Xiomara Castro She became the president of Honduras in January 2022 after her victory in the 2021 elections.
To date, and before the election of Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico, Castro was the last woman to be elected to the highest command of a country in Latin America.
