Ifigenia Martha Martínez y Hernández, the 99-year-old pioneer of the Mexican left, passed away just three days after presiding over the congressional session in which Claudia Sheinbaum became Mexico’s first female president.
Martínez, visibly frail during the ceremony, required an oxygen tank for support and was physically unable to place the presidential sash on Sheinbaum, as tradition dictates. Bravely, she declared, “Having gone through so many battles for democracy and justice, I feel deeply honored to witness this historic triumph.”
Sheinbaum noted that Martínez had insisted on attending the ceremony, despite her declining health. A respected economist, professor and diplomat, as a politician Martínez was the first female senator to represent a party other than the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the first self-professed leftist woman to serve as a federal deputy. She also served as the economic coordinator in Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidential campaign in 2000.
At a celebration of her life in Congress this week, Morena legislator Ricardo Monreal Ávila said Martínez “never succumbed to power, money, or positions. She was an incorruptible, honest, consistent woman.” Eulogies from other legislators across party lines highlighted her “dialogue, elegance, and consistency,” as well as her “strong ideas and strong convictions.”