--- description: Find out why Claudia Sheinbaum is one of the 100 most influential people of 2026. title: Claudia Sheinbaum: The 100 Most Influential People of 2026 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e2d8370327236d8/69dfb012ffa3d70ef20e1989/T100-2026-Web-Claudia-Sheinbaum-0284.png?branch=production --- Apr 15, 2026 # Claudia Sheinbaum by [Ioan Grillo](/author/ioan-grillo/) ## Ioan Grillo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Luis Antonio Rojas—The New York Times/Redux Mexican President [Claudia Sheinbaum](https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273781/claudia-sheinbaum/ "undefined") began her first full year in office with pressure from all sides. Donald Trump, then the U.S. President-elect, had threatened to slap tariffs on Mexico and launch American military strikes into its territory. Violent gangsters ran fentanyl and human smuggling over the Rio Grande. And her domestic critics claimed she would be overshadowed by her crusading predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Sheinbaum’s response to the onslaught was a lesson in [diplomacy](https://time.com/7314987/us-mexico-trump-sheinbaum-rubio/ "undefined"). She hit cartels hard, raiding labs, transferring bosses into U.S. custody, and taking down the kingpin “El Mencho,” helping to stave off more aggressive American intervention. She spoke coolly in defense of Mexican sovereignty while avoiding confrontation. These wins made her one of the most popular leaders in the region and a success story for mixing populism with pragmatism. Yet with Mexico’s economy sluggish, crime still critical, and tens of thousands of disappeared still missing, it may be an uphill battle to turn her strong start into a lasting legacy._Grillo is a journalist in Mexico and author of the_ El Narco _trilogy_ Claudia Sheinbaum Is on the 2026 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/claudia-sheinbaum/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/claudia-sheinbaum/"},"headline":"Claudia Sheinbaum","datePublished":"2026-04-15T11:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:21:53.214Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/claudia-sheinbaum/","keywords":["TIME 100","list","franchise","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e2d8370327236d8/69dfb012ffa3d70ef20e1989/T100-2026-Web-Claudia-Sheinbaum-0284.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ioan Grillo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ioan-grillo/"}],"creator":"Ioan Grillo","articleSection":"TIME100","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e2d8370327236d8/69dfb012ffa3d70ef20e1989/T100-2026-Web-Claudia-Sheinbaum-0284.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/time100/","name":"TIME100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-100/","name":"TIME 100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/claudia-sheinbaum/","name":"Claudia Sheinbaum"}}]}] ```