Claudia Sheinbaum Makes History as First Female President-Elect of Mexico
by sdmn
Claudia Sheinbaum won the presidential election in Mexico with 59% of the votes, representing MORENA. This makes her the first elected female president of Mexico and strengthens MORENA’s power. However, the election was marked by electoral violence and security challenges.
In a historic electoral event, the party of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), consolidated its power in Mexico by sweeping the presidential elections. Claudia Sheinbaum, former head of government of Mexico City and candidate of the coalition led by MORENA, won with 59% of the votes. This makes Sheinbaum the first woman elected president of Mexico, surpassing Xóchitl Gálvez, who obtained 27.84% of the votes as the representative of the PRI, PAN, and PRD coalition, and Jorge Álvarez Máynez of the Citizen Movement, who received 10.39%.
Sheinbaum’s victory not only represents a historic milestone in terms of women’s representation in Latin American politics but also reinforces MORENA’s political dominance in Mexico. In addition to the presidency, MORENA has secured seven of the nine governorships up for election and, at the time of writing this article, is on track to achieve supermajorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, consolidating itself as the most influential political force in contemporary Mexico and even on the verge of being able toamend the constitution.
However, these elections were not free from tragedy. Electoral violence marked the process with the unfortunate deaths of 37 candidates, mainly at the municipal level, before the elections. The situation worsened with the assassination of another municipal president on June 4, highlighting the security challenges facing the country that Sheinbaum will lead, adding to the fiscal deficit, the management of social programs, and the expansion of the Armed Forces’ roles.
Voting abroad played an important role in these elections. According to data from the National Electoral Institute (INE), more than 180,000 votes were received from Mexicans living abroad, representing a considerable increase compared to previous elections. This increase was evident through the three permitted voting methods: postal, internet, and in-person at consular offices. In total, 39,590 votes were sent by mail, 135,331 were cast online, and 5,755 in person at 23 consulates.
The INE reported that by Friday, May 3, 2,580 votes from Mexicans abroad had been received via postal voting. However, a total of 258,461 people were expected to exercise their right to vote from abroad. The Nominal List abroad was composed of 223,000 people, just a fraction of the 12.1 million Mexicans living outside the country. Additionally, each consulate could attend to up to 1,500 unregistered people, provided they had valid credentials. Nonetheless, the INE admitted in a press conference that the turnout in several cities exceeded expectations. Despite INE’s efforts, the process was not without complications. There were reports of disorganization and long lines at several consulates, including cases of delays in Madrid due to electronic device failures, according to Infobae, and confusion in several U.S. cities, where voters could not locate the lines for registered and unregistered voters, according to Forbes Mexico. The participation of the Mexican diaspora is a testament to the growing interest in influencing the political future of their country of origin. La Jornada reported that, compared to the federal elections of 2006, 2012, and 2018, where 40,876, 59,115, and 98,854 votes were obtained respectively, in 2024, 184,372 votes were received, demonstrating an exponential increase in citizen participation abroad.