Who is Claudia Sheinbaum, scientist who will head Mexico as 1st female prez

Claudia Sheinbaum takes office Tuesday as Mexico's first female president in the nation's more than 200 years of independence.

The 62-year-old former Mexico City mayor and lifelong leftist campaigned on a promise of continuity, of protecting and expanding the signature initiatives of her mentor, former President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador.

In the four months between her election and inauguration she held that line, backing Lpez Obrador on issues big and small. But Sheinbaum is a very different person; she likes data and doesn't have Lpez Obrador's backslapping personal touch.

Mexico now waits to see if she will step out of his shadow.

What's Sheinbaum's background?

Sheinbaum's background is in science. She has a Ph.D. in energy engineering. Her brother is a physicist. In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, Sheinbaum said, I believe in science.

Observers say that grounding showed itself in Sheinbaum's actions as mayor during the COVID-19 pandemic, when her city of some 9 mi