Why Mexico Picked a Woman President First
Why Mexico Picked a Woman President First
For Foreign Policy, AS/COA’s Carin Zissis covers why Mexico outpaces the United States when it comes to women’s political leadership.
Mexico and the United States both held presidential elections this year, but along the campaign trail, two different conversations were taking place. In Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum rallied voters with the catchphrase: "It’s time for women." She beat her next closest rival, also a woman, by 32 points—nearly 20 million votes. On election night, supporters in the capital’s main square greeted her with shouts of presidenta, celebrating at once her victory and, by using the feminine form of the word, their first woman president.
In the United States, eight years after Hillary Clinton championed the dream of breaking the ultimate glass ceiling, Vice President Kamala Harris avoided the issue altogether as a presidential candidate. As she sought to win over swing state voters, Harris leaned more into emphasizing her career as a prosecutor than the potential of marking a historic milestone, and even deflected when asked directly about it...
Carin Zissis is a fellow at the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute. She is editor-in-chief of AS/COA Online, the website of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
