The former Mexico City mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum has won the United Mexican States presidential elections in a landslide victory. Becoming the North American nation’s first female president in history. According to international news agencies, her victory is an undeniable bright spot for the Latin American left amid a string of setbacks.
Leaders from across the Americas have offered congratulations to Sheinbaum. Officials from countries including Brazil, Chile and the United States have offered praise for the new president-elect, who won Sunday, 02 June 2024 election with more than 59 percent of the vote.
Sheinbaum will represent the left-leaning National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party a member of the ruling coalition when she takes office on October 1. The ruling coalition is also on track for a possible two-thirds supermajority in both houses of Congress, which would allow the coalition to pass constitutional reforms without opposition support. The ruling Morena party also won the Mexico City mayorship race, one of the country’s most important posts, according to preliminary results.
Opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez conceded defeat after preliminary results showed her taking between 26.6 and 28.6 percent of the vote.
“I congratulate Claudia Sheinbaum on her historic election as the first woman President of Mexico,” US President Joe Biden said in a press release on Monday, 03 June. “I look forward to working closely with President-elect Sheinbaum in the spirit of partnership and friendship that reflects the enduring bonds between our two countries.”
Sheinbaum will succeed current president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known by his initials AMLO, who founded the Morena party. During her campaign, Sheinbaum pledged to move his signature policies forward during her six-year term in office. Andrés Manuel López Obrador leaves office in September as one of the most popular world leaders in office today.
Obrador’s approval rating has consistently remained higher than 60 percent, with the survey agency Morning Consult ranking his popularity behind only two other leaders – India’s Narendra Modi and Argentina’s Javier Milei.
His track record in office has included the advancement of progressive priorities such as the expansion of social programmes for the poor. But Lopez Obrador has also led controversial initiatives, including expanding the military’s mandate and collaborations with the United States to crack down on northward migration.
Sheinbaum has a close professional relationship with Lopez Obrador, who appointed her as his secretary of the environment when he led Mexico City’s government, starting in 2000.Leaders on the political left across Latin America, with whom Lopez Obrador has pursued strong ties, expressed optimism after Sunday’s vote showed Sheinbaum with a sizeable victory over a conservative-leaning coalition.
“I am very happy with her victory, because she represents my great friend Lopez Obrador who has led an extraordinary government,” Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in remarks on Monday, adding that he hoped economic ties between the two countries would expand further.
The government of Chile’s President Gabriel Boric also released a statement, saying it hopes Sheinbaum’s election will contribute towards a more “inclusive, just, resilient and peaceful region”. The Morena party’s win with Sheinbaum is a show of strength when the left in Latin America has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years. The party is also poised to hold and possibly expand its legislative majority.
However, in countries like Colombia and Chile, left-leaning presidents have seen their popularity ebb as they struggle to make progress on their key priorities. But conservative candidates have out-performed left-wing candidates in presidential elections in Ecuador and Argentina over the past year.
Sheinbaum’s who won the presidency with 58.3-60.7 percent of the vote, according to a rapid sample count by Mexico’s electoral authority, in what would be the highest vote percentage in Mexico’s democratic history—makes history not only because it marks the selection of the country’s first female leader but also its first president of Jewish heritage.
A climate scientist and energy engineer, Sheinbaum participated in a 2007 climate-change report that won the Nobel Peace Prize that same year.
In his message marking Sheinbaum’s victory, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a nod to what her leadership could mean for women and the environment.
“Working together, we will make life better for our peoples, including by fighting climate change, strengthening international peace and security, promoting gender equality and advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples,” Trudeau said.
Observers have noted that Mexico’s election of a female president is a milestone its northern neighbour, the US, has yet to hit. The US granted women full suffrage in 1920, and Mexico did the same in 1953.
But activists warn that Sheinbaum’s election is not necessarily a turning point for women’s rights in the country. Women suffer from high levels of violence and gender-based discrimination in Mexico, with the United Nations estimating an average of 10 women each day are victims of femicide.
Likewise, on the issue of climate change, Sheinbaum’s critics have expressed scepticism, as she has pledged to continue her predecessor’s support for the state-run oil company, Pemex.
SOURCE: International News Agencies
