Claudia Sheinbaum’s radical Jewish heritage

JVL Introduction

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has won a landslide victory as Mexican president elect, its first female – and its first Jewish – President.

In a fascinating account of her family background Noah Mazer investigates the chequered history of her grandfather and great uncle, Chone and Solomon Sheinbaum, both militant Communists, living as they did in a world of inner-party intrigue, militant struggles and vicious repression in Europe, Cuba and, finally, Mexico.

Sheinbaum did not dwell on her background during the campaign. As the Mazer point out anti-communism remains a staple discourse of the Mexican right, and the racial component of national identity that took shape in the 1930s endures. Jews, and Asians, in particular, have never been welcome.

Her opponent Xóchitl Gálvez tried, unsuccessfully to make up electoral ground by unsuccessfully deploying “a series of dog-whistle insinuations about Sheinbaum’s Jewish heritage”.

Scheinbaum has a strong record as mayor of Mexico City and she and her party a strong social reform programme. With that, and a huge mandate from the elections, left-wing commentators are cautiously optimistic.

She herself expressed strong solidarity with Gaza back in 2009 which hopefully bodes well.

RK (h/t MN)

This article was originally published by Jacobin on Mon 10 Jun 2024. Read the original here.