Facebook Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller, First Lady of Mexico.
Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller, the wife of newly elected Mexico president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, often referred to as AMLO, has maintained a fairly low profile leading up to her husband’s victory. Now, as the First Lady of Mexico, she has been propelled into the spotlight and has won the hearts of millions in Mexico.
Müller has plenty of political experience under her belt, working as a communication consultant in the Federal District Government between 2001 and 2005, according to Soy Carmin. It was during that time that she met her husband Obrador, and has continued to increase her presence in the political spotlight since.
She has also authored several books and has worked as a journalist for different media publications for over a decade.
Here’s what you need to know about Müller:
1. Müller Has a History in Politics and Journalism & Has Received a Doctorate After Her Thesis Interpreting the Book of Job
The daughter of a Chilean mother, Müller was born in 1969 in Mexico City, although she spent most of her childhood growing up in Morelia and Puebla, according to Quien.
She has a degree in Communication from Ibero de Puebla, and received a Master’s Degree in Ibero-American Literature. She was a journalist for over a decade, writing for publications such as Página Regional, El Universal and Argos Comunicación, Quien reports.
“Between 2001 and 2005 she was an advisor to the Diffusion Department of the Federal Government and later to the International Affairs section. [She] received [her] doctorate in Literary Theory from the Autonomous Metropolitan University with a thesis on Francisco de Quevedo’s interpretation of the Book of Job,” Quien states.
To obtain her Master’s Degree, Müller presented in 2002 the thesis The Art of Memory in the True History of the Conquest of New Spain, according to Animal Politico.
2. She Met Her Husband in 2004, Shortly After His Late Wife Died & Has Tried Hard to Be Seen as More Than “The Wife Of” a Politician
Müller met Obrador around 2004, when her (now) husband was nearing the end of his term as Head of Government of the Federal District, which he held from 2000 to 2005. According to Animal Politico, Obrador was “emerging as one of the strongest candidates for the 2006 elections.”
Animal Politico reports that Obrador and Müller met shortly after Obrador’s wife died of an immune disorder in 2003. In 2007, the couple welcomed their first child, Jesus Ernesto.
Long known for her attempts to differentiate herself from her husband’s political beliefs and career and establish herself as her own person, Müller devoted herself to her career, her son and her family after Ernesto was born.
“Beatriz has always assumed a neutral role in which she has not wanted to be seen as ‘the wife of,’ and has devoted herself completely to her career and her family,” Soy Carmin reports.
3. Müller is Openly Supportive of Her Husband’s Election, Despite Attempting to Remain Separate From His Politics
She shows unwavering support for her husband on social media, posting numerous pictures of Obrador giving speeches with Müller at his side, all captioned with supportive messages of her husband’s campaign.
“We’re ready for what comes, love is the biggest force,” she captioned one picture of herself and Obrador.
She also posted a caricature of her husband that stated “Hashtag Peace AMLOve,” and several pictures of herself and Obrador mingling with children and supporters.
“Always together, we’re a single force. #AMLOVE,” she wrote on another picture.
4. She Enjoys Poetry & Dedicated Two Books to the Nicaraguan Journalist and Poet Solón Argüello
Müller has written several books, including “Long Live the Sun,” and “Old New Century: a Country Immersed in Misery and Inequality.”
“After marrying AMLO, Beatriz became a frequent client of this literary pharmacy and began publishing her work, both academic and fiction. [Her] first novel, Long Live the Sun, appeared in 2012. The second, Old New Century, a year later,” according to Quien.
According to Quien, Müller “left behind the Spanish Golden Age” and in recent years became very involved with Solón Argüello, a Nicaraguan journalist, poet and private secretary of Madero to whom she has dedicated two of her books.
“I have found in literature the best way to be healthy; it is my social security and always has medicine,” she said at the UANLeer literary festival, where she presented Leyendas y Cantos, her first book of poems, according to Quien.
5. Müller’s Husband Won the Election in Mexico, Becoming Mexico’s First Leftist President in Decades
Müller’s husband, the former mayor of Mexico City, secured more than 53 percent of the vote during the election, giving him the lead to take over from the current president Enrique Pena Nieto.
The 64-year-old president-elect, who is sometimes called “AMLO,” led opinion polls throughout his election campaign which saw him “promise to clean up crime and cut corruption,” according to the Independent. Obrador is the first leftist president to have control of Mexico in decades.
This election was Obrador’s third bid for presidency, and he held a commanding lead in the polls ahead of the vote. He also promised to increase social spending and “pursue a different approach to crack down on drug cartels – even floating the idea of amnesty for those involved in the drug business if not accused of serious offences,” USA Today reports.
Müller posted a simple celebratory meme on Facebook, thanking Mexico for the election results and her husband’s victory, accompanied by a meme stating “juntos haremos historia,” translated to English as “together we’ll make history.”