For all its machomale-dominated culture and negative biases against female leaders, Mexico has become the first country in North America to elect a woman as head of government — and her closest rival was a woman as well. Make no mistake, her election is the culmination of a gender parity framework that has been in place for decades in the country.
It's all too convenient to praise gender parity policies for this outcome when Sheinbaum is, in fact, just another female protégé appointed that a populist Latin American leader who can't run for re-election appoints as his successor. Given that this story is reminiscent of Dilma Rousseff's rise in Brazil, one can only hope for better luck for Mexico.
There's an 8% chance that Mexico will experience a successful coup d'etat before 2040, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 7.4.1