Sheinbaum vs Harris

Even if Kamala Harris wins, the US-Mexico relationship won’t be smooth sailing.

Vice-president of the United States Kamala Harris is in a very tight race with Donald Trump. The fate of the presidency will not be decided until November 5th, just over a month after Claudia Sheinbaum becomes Mexico’s president. That has not stopped commentators from speculating with coverage often focusing on these two leaders’ breaking of glass ceilings and other gender issues. The tone usually leans towards an assumption that this will bring their governments closer in the event that Harris wins. 

“To say that women [in power] will, by definition, get along better than they would with a man is bizarrely sexist,” Roberta S. Jacobson, former US Ambassador to Mexico, told The Mexico Political Economist. 

It also skims past the other key policy arenas that both will have to deal with if they do, in fact, end up on opposite ends of a negotiating table. So, what do Sheinbaum and Harris agree on and where might US-Mexico relations hit upon disagreements under their leadership?