Na for January 1987 and students for UNAM, Mexico largest public university, dey strike against plans to charge tuition fees.

Di protest leaders bin call out to di crowd: "Who go hang di strike flag for di dean office?"

One 24-year-old Physics student den step forward - "Me!"

Years later dat student - Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo - don dey elected President of Mexico for di left-wing Morena party.

Mexicans simply dey call her "Claudia". Mama-of-two, di 61-year-old get PhD for environmental engineering and she be di former mayor of di kontri capital, Mexico City, wey get more dan nine million residents.

As of 1 October, she go also become di kontri first female president.

"I don always dey like dat, very adventurous," Sheinbaum tok about di moment for di student protest. "No be so much anymore. I get more responsibilities."

Sheinbaum go dey in charge of kontri wey get 130 million citizens, wit poverty rate of 36%, border wit di United States and high rate of femicides and violence by organised crime.

Even wit those responsibilities, Diana Alarcón, Sheinbaum friend and political advisor, tok say Sheinbaum go stay true to herself.

"No be say she don stop to dey do I no go gree. Na say her position for di movement don change, but di idea to fight for di pipo, wey she reason say be pikin dem, no shake."

For di past six years, Mexico don dey governed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador of di same party. wey pipo sabi by im initials - Amlo - e end im term wit one 60% approval rating, stable economy and don leave one sense of hope among most Mexicans wey Sheinbaum go hope to take forward.

Presidents dey restricted to one single six-year term for Mexico wey mean say Amlo no fit run again. E get at least six candidate to succeed am, of wey only one be woman: Sheinbaum.

Mexico official electoral authority say preliminary results show say di 61-year-old former mayor of Mexico City dey win between 58% and 60% of di vote in Sunday election.

Sheinbaum don be one key piece of AMLO project to change Mexico. But she get sometin wey different to offer: she be prize-winning scientist wey don apply her research to successful public policies.

Political childhood

Dem born Sheinbaum for 24 June, 1962, for Mexico City, to parents wey be left-wing militants and pioneers for dia academic work.

Her papa, Carlos Sheinbaum, na businessman and chemist wey im parents, Ashkenazi Jews, bin enta Mexico from Lithuania for di 1920s. Her mama, Annie Pardo, na biologist and doctor wey her parents, Sephardic Jews, bin land from Bulgaria for di 1940s.

Sheinbaum bin grow up for one upper-middle class neighborhood for di south of di capital wia dem dey tok about politics for breakfast, lunch, dinner. Her parents go carry her go visit dia militant friends for prison.

Di young Sheinbaum bin go one secular school wey promote di autonomy of students, wey no dey common for Catholic kontri. Na dia dem say she bin don develop one strict and energetic personality. She dey known as pesin wey go check ideas bifor she jump to conclusions.

Alarcón, Sheinbaum friend since di 1970s, tok: "She dey shy. Dat na why she fit feel serious, but once you siddon down wit her, she dey warm, funny and clear."

Sheinbaum dey always tok say "I be daughter of '68," she dey tok about di global protest movement wey her parents be part of.

Di 1980s also be one key decade for her. Corruption scandals bin start to tarnish Mexico old political class and di neoliberal economic model - wey favour di move of economic factors from di goment to di private sector - dem put am in place. For Sheinbaum, dis simply represent inequality and poverty for di pipo of Mexico.

Politics don always dey close to Sheinbaum heart. Her first husband na Carlos Ímaz, one leftist politician. Dem bin go on to divorce bifor she marry Jesús María Tarriba for 2023, one financial risk analyst wey she bin first meet for university.

She bin don dedicate much time to academia. As well as complete her PhD she don author some paper on topics including enof wood-burning ovens for indigenous communities.

How Sheinbaum enta politics

For 2000, two political developments bin happun wey help open way for Sheinbaum presidency today.

Di Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) bin lost di presidential elections for di first time inside more dan 70 years. While for Mexico City one leftist militant from Tabasco, for di poor south, win di mayor office. Dat winner na Amlo.

Na also for dis time wey Amlo and Sheinbaum bin meet afta one maths professor and UNAM activist recommend her for di role of Environment Secretary for im administration.

Amlo bin appoint Sheinbaum and entrust her wit two tasks: clean-up one of di most polluted cities di world and build di second floor of di Periférico, di city biggest highway. She bin deliver on both.

Wen Amlo administration bin finish, for 2006, Sheinbaum bin return once more to academia and become part of one Nobel Peace Prize-winning team wey bin investigate climate change.

But she bin keep one hand for politics and become di tok-tok pesin for Amlo failed presidential campaigns for 2006 and 2012.

Den, for 2015, she bin step into di political limelight herself. She bin run and win di mayor office for Tlalpan, Mexico city largest borough, wia she bin grow up.

Three years later, wen Amlo become President of Mexico, Sheinbaum become di mayor of Mexico City, dat sharpaly make her one of di contenders to succeed am.

But wit dat, come finger-pointing and scrutiny.

During di 2017 Puebla earthquake, wey bin get one estimate magnitude of 7.1, one school for Tlalpan wey dey built for middle of irregularities, collapse, 17 children bin die. Di opposition and some families bin blame Sheinbaum say she no close am wen dem first report di mata.

Den, for 2021, one subway accident leave 27 dead. Sheinbaum bin launch one investigation wey show fault for di construction between 2014 and 2015 wen di city dey governed by her party. Again, many bin blame her for di deaths.

During dis presidential campaign, those scandals bin show face again, as well as di accuse of plagiarism wey no get prove for her academic work and di idea say she be Amlo "puppet".

Sheinbaum friend, Alarcón, tok: "Twice for my life I bin askher why she dey subject herself to dis hard tin of politics. And for both cases, she tok say na 'sake of say na di right tin to do'.

"Dat na why pipo see her as trustworthy. Sake of say she no try get power for power sake, but sake of say she get sense of responsibility towards society."

Becoming president

Despite di scandals, more dan 60% of pipo bin approve Sheinbaum administration for Mexico City.

Citizen insecurity wey relate to violence dey partially lower, bicycle lanes bin grow and di longest cable car for di world dey built, cover 4.8km.

But di way she bin handle di Coronavirus pandemic for Mexico City dey considered to be her political highlight, so far. Na also wia she bin show how her leadership dey different to Amlo.

While Sheinbaum lock down Mexico City as di virus spread, Amlo dismiss di danger of am. While she bin wear facemask, e no wear and while she bin promote mass vaccination, e no sure.

But dat no stop her from being im favourite as successor.

"Amlo, over time, bin learn to respect her," Jorge Zepeda Patterson, one journalist and political commentator wey don interview both. "E bin realise say shebe pesin wey dey deliver wit responsibility, wey fit not be politician, but wey be ogbonge public administrator."

E bin get plenty romour about her presidency - weda Amlo go call di shots, weda she go manage to keep top military personnel and govnors for check or whether she go keep up wit Amlo pragmatic approach towards di US.

"Wetin I fit assure you na say she go be herself," Alarcón, her long-time friend tok. "For di 80's e be her turn to hang di flag for di UNAM rector office and she bin do am, and now na her turn to build universities.

"I no get doubt say she go do am, be herself, be Claudia."




Claudia Sheinbaum and her husband Jesús María Tarriba

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