Claudia Sheinbaum becomes the first female president of Mexico

According to early results released by Mexico’s official electoral office, the 61-year-old former mayor of Mexico City received between 58% and 60% of the vote on Sunday.

This puts her ahead of businesswoman Xóchitl Gálvez by almost thirty percentage points. On October 1, Ms. Sheinbaum will succeed her mentor, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is leaving office.

Former energy scientist Ms. Sheinbaum has pledged continuity, stating that she will carry on Mr. López Obrador’s «advances» and expand on the welfare initiatives that have helped the departing president gain enormous popularity.

However, she also emphasized in her winning speech what makes this Mexican election unique from others. She spoke to the applauding voters: «For the first time in the 200 years of the [Mexican] Republic, I will become the first woman president of Mexico.»

Ms. Sheinbaum had one of the most powerful political jobs in the nation—mayor of Mexico City—prior to declaring her candidacy for president. This role is thought to have paved the way for the president.

It has been said that the election, which matched Ms. Sheinbaum against Ms. Gálvez, represents a paradigm shift for women in Mexico.

When Ms. Sheinbaum takes office, one of the numerous issues she will face is how to deal with Mexico’s vicious cartels.

In order to stop impoverished young Mexicans from becoming recruits for criminal organizations, she has stated that it is critical to address what she claims are the causes of the violence and committed to funding social programs.

She pledged to establish «a relationship of friendship, mutual respect, and equality» regarding ties with the United States, Mexico’s northern neighbor, which had occasionally been tense during her predecessor in office

Since taking office in 2018, Mr. López Obrador has strained ties between the US and Mexico.
According to Mexico’s constitution, which restricts presidents to a single six-year term, the outspoken leader was not permitted to compete for a second term.

Instead, he supported Ms. Sheinbaum with all of his might.

The popular president, whose favor rating hovers around 60%, lent a significant impetus to Ms. Sheinbaum’s campaign.

Numerous voters supporting her declared their support for her and Mr. López Obrador’s party’s poverty-alleviation policy and their want to see it carried out.