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The president of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Deputies, Ifigenia Martínez y Hernández, passed away at the age of 94.
The news comes just days after Martínez swore in Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president.
The coordinator of the Morena parliamentary group, Ricardo Monreal Ávila, shared the news through his account on X: “It is with deep sadness that I announce the sensitive death of teacher Ifigenia Martínez y Hernández, president of the Chamber of Deputies, information that her family has confirmed to me. May such an extraordinary woman rest in peace and may her loved ones find a prompt resignation.”
An emblematic figure of the Mexican left
Ifigenia Martínez was born on June 16, 1930, and is recognized as one of the most influential economists in Mexico. She was one of the first to research economic and social inequality in the country. She completed her training at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and was the first Mexican to obtain a master’s degree in economics from Harvard University.
During her career, Martínez co-founded the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in 1950 and served as a professor at UNAM, an institution to which she dedicated much of her life. In 1967, she became the first woman to direct the National School of Economics at UNAM, standing out in the defense of university autonomy during the 1968 conflict.
Last public appearance
On October 1, in her last public appearance, Ifigenia Martínez placed the presidential sash on Claudia Sheinbaum. During the ceremony, Martínez showed signs of fragility, requiring support to remain standing.
