Claudia Sheinbaum is first woman elected Mexico City mayor, defying history of gender inequality
Scheinbaum had a controversial campaign, dogged by accusations about complicity in a building collapse during last year’s Mexico City earthquake
Claudia Sheinbaum, a Jewish scientist, environmentalist and left-wing politician, became the first woman ever to be elected Mexico City mayor on Sunday, according to exit polls.
Sheinbaum, 56, has made a rapid political rise to lead North America’s largest city – though it has not been without controversy.
She won the election to lead the capital with between 47.5 and 55.5 per cent of the vote, according to the polling firm Mitofsky.
She will not be the first woman to govern Mexico City – Rosario Robles held the job on an interim basis from 1999 to 2000, after her boss, Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, resigned to run for president.
