After taking up the project left behind by her mentor and outgoing leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose popularity among the impoverished contributed to her victory, Claudia Sheinbaum won a landslide victory to become Mexico’s first female president.
Based on a fast sample count conducted by Mexico’s electoral authority, Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, received between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote to win the presidency. It is expected to be the largest percentage of votes cast in Mexico’s democratic history.
Based on the range of results provided by the electoral authority, the ruling coalition was also headed toward a potential two-thirds supermajority in both houses of Congress, which would enable the coalition to enact constitutional reforms without the support of the opposition.
Preliminary results showed that opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez received between 26.6% and 28.6% of the vote; Sheinbaum claimed that Galvez had called her to concede.
To thunderous cries of “president, president,” Sheinbaum announced to her supporters, “I will become the first woman president of Mexico for the first time in the 200-year republic.”
Mexico, the nation with the second-largest Roman Catholic population in the world and known for its macho culture, is celebrating Sheinbaum’s victory. For years, Mexico has promoted more traditional values and roles for women.
In the US, Mexico, or Canada, Sheinbaum is the first female general election victor.
“I never thought I would vote for a woman one day,” said Edelmira Montiel, 87, a Sheinbaum supporter from Tlaxcala, the smallest state in Mexico.
“In the past, voting was prohibited to us, and when it was, you had to cast your ballot for the candidate your spouse advised you to support. I get to live it, thank God it has changed,” Montiel continued.
Sheinbaum faces a challenging future. She has to strike a balance between taking over a sizable budget deficit and slow economic growth, and her pledge to expand popular welfare programs.
Following the release of the preliminary results, she assured supporters that her government would adhere to fiscal responsibility and respect the central bank’s independence.
She promised to increase security, but she hasn’t provided many details. Additionally, the election—which saw 38 candidates killed—was the bloodiest in Mexico’s recent history, which has exacerbated the country’s severe security issues. Many analysts claim that during Lopez Obrador’s administration, organized crime groups increased and strengthened their influence.
The deaths of two persons at polling places in the state of Puebla also clouded Sunday’s election results. Although the homicide rate has been gradually declining, more people—over 185,000—have died under Lopez Obrador’s administration than under any other in Mexico’s recent history.
According to independent political risk analyst for Latin America Nathaniel Parish Flannery, “Sheinbaum will likely struggle to achieve a significant improvement in overall levels of security unless she commits to making a game-changing level of investment in improving policing and reducing impunity.”
One of the most significant positions in the nation, the mayor of Mexico City is chosen by the ruling MORENA party, however the opposition has challenged this and asserts that its own candidate prevailed.
US relations
Tense talks with the US over the massive numbers of migrants heading for the US crossing Mexico and security cooperation over drug trafficking at a time when the US is experiencing a fentanyl epidemic are two of the challenges facing the incoming president.
If Donald Trump wins the presidency of the United States in November, Mexican officials anticipate that these negotiations will be more challenging. In addition to vowing to use special forces to combat the cartels, Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese automobiles manufactured in Mexico.
In the United States, the incoming president will have to deal with issues like water and electricity scarcity and encourage businesses to move closer to their primary markets through a practice known as “nearshoring.”
Sheinbaum will also need to consider how to handle Pemex, the massive state oil company whose output has been declining for the past 20 years and which is heavily indebted.
Goldman Sachs’ chief Latin America economist, Alberto Ramos, said, “It cannot just be that there is an endless pit where you put public money in and the company is never profitable.” “They need to reconsider Pemex’s business model.”
Due to his achievements, which included doubling the minimum wage, lowering poverty, strengthening the peso, and lowering unemployment, Lopez Obrador became immensely popular.
According to the central bank, Sheinbaum has pledged to increase welfare programs, but it will not be simple given that Mexico is expected to have a significant deficit this year and a weak GDP growth of 1.5% in 2025.
The campaign has been dominated by Lopez Obrador, who wants to use the election as a referendum on his political agenda. While Sheinbaum has promised to carry out many of Lopez Obrador’s policies, including those that have benefited the poorest citizens of Mexico, she has rejected accusations from the opposition that she would be a “puppet” of the politician.
Sheinbaum praised Lopez Obrador as “a unique person who has transformed our country for the better” in her victory speech.
However, political analyst Viri Rios stated that she believed the criticism of Sheinbaum being the outgoing leader’s puppet stemmed from sexism.
“I think it’s largely because she’s a woman that people find it unbelievable that she will be making her own decisions,” the woman remarked.
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