New Mexico elects first indigenous female governor in US history

New Mexico made history this Tuesday with the victory of Democrat Deb Haaland, who has become the first indigenous woman elected governor in the United States, according to projections by the Associated Press and NBC.

Haaland will take over the position after her time in Joe Biden's Administration as Secretary of the Interior between 2021 and 2025, where she was the first Native American to be part of the United States Cabinet, the president's main advisory body then made up of the Vice President, Kamala Harris, and the rest of the heads of the federal departments.

Before that, in 2018, the governor-elect already held the title of the first congresswoman of her ethnic identity in the House of Representatives, although in this case she shares the title with the former congresswoman from Kansas, Sharice Davids, who was elected in the same electoral period.

Haaland's priorities, as explained by her campaign team, focus on issues such as health, housing and education, but also addictions, crime and drought, "challenges" for those who ask for different solutions than usual.

Before entering the world of politics, this member of the Democratic Party carried out catering work and ran her own business producing and canning sauces, an occupation she combined with raising her non-binary son, Somah, alone.

As a young man, Haaland belonged to a military family, with a Marine Corps officer father, which led him to study in up to 13 public schools before graduating from Highland High School in Albuquerque, but it was not until he was 28 that he earned a bachelor's degree in English at the University of New Mexico, where he later also obtained a graduate degree in law.

He worked for the natives from the Federal Government

During her time as Home Secretary, she led an investigation into the legacy of boarding schools that forcibly integrated indigenous children, an action that resulted in two official reports and the 'Road to Healing' project.

With the focus on helping indigenous peoples, Haaland increased land co-management agreements with them, from 20 to 300, to incorporate indigenous knowledge in caring for the environment.