Claudia Sheinbaum becomes Mexico's first woman president
There have been no surprises in Mexico's presidential elections. As expected, Claudia Sheinbaum, the candidate of the political party in power, has won the elections, becoming the first woman president of the Latin American country.
Sheinbaum, who also becomes the first female president of Jewish descent in the country, obtained between 58.3% and 60.7% of the votes, according to the quick count carried out by the National Electoral Institute (INE). Xóchitl Gálvez, backed by a coalition of the National Action (PAN), Institutional Revolutionary (PRI) and Democratic Revolution (PRD) parties, has won between 26.6% and 28.6%, while in third place is Movimiento Ciudadano candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez with between 9.9% and 10.8% of the vote.
Sheinbaum, a former Mexico City mayor and scientist, has pledged to continue the policies of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, including pensions for all seniors, scholarships for more than 12 million students and free fertiliser for small farm owners.
On the economic front, Sheinbaum has also proposed raising the minimum wage, prioritising resources, guaranteeing social policies, combating poverty and eradicating inequality. On the other hand, she has also mentioned regulating the exploitation, exploitation, use, and control of water, as well as the technification of agricultural irrigation.
Sheinbaum, who specialises in clean energy and climate action, has placed special emphasis on energy transition and renewable energies. The future Mexican president is co-author of a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize-winning report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
‘I will not fail you,’ Sheinbaum assured her supporters after the first results. For his part, the leader of the ruling Morena party and outgoing president, López Obrador, congratulated her on her victory.
In addition to maintaining the left-wing policies promoted by her predecessor, Sheinbaum also faces the challenge of tackling violence and cartels. In this regard, during the election campaign, the Morena candidate highlighted her record as mayor of Mexico City, as, according to her team, she managed to improve the working conditions of the police and their intelligence-gathering capacity.
Although the homicide rate decreased between 2019 and 2022, Mexico still hovers around historically high levels, with around 30,000 murders each year. The Central American nation also has worrying femicide rates: around 10 women are murdered every day, according to UN Women figures.
However, on a political level, Mexico outperforms many countries in female parliamentary representation. Sheinbaum's victory consolidates this institutional gender equality that was promoted through the constitutional reform of 2019.
An election campaign marked by violence
These elections have been marked by acts of violence that have left 38 candidates murdered. Also, on election day, two people were killed at two different polling stations.
This violence highlights the great threat posed by drug cartels to the country's democracy, as well as the insecurity faced by citizens across the country.
About 6 out of 10 Mexicans consider the city where they live to be unsafe due to robbery or armed violence, according to a survey by Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography published in April. On the other hand, the country has experienced a 150% increase in the number of victims of political violence since 2021, according to an analysis by Integralia.