Claudia Sheinbaum became first woman president of Mexico

Claudia Sheinbaum became the first female President of Mexico after winning a landslide victory, inheriting the project of her mentor and outgoing leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador whose popularity among the poor helped drive her triumph.

Based on a fast sample count conducted by Mexico’s electoral body, Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, received between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote to win the presidency. That is anticipated to be the largest percentage of votes cast in Mexico’s democratic history. Based on the range of results provided by the election 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 revisions without the cooperation 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.

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Mexico, the nation with the second-largest Roman Catholic population in the world and noted for its macho culture, is celebrating Sheinbaum’s victory. For years, Mexico has promoted more traditional values and responsibilities for women. In the US, Mexico, and Canada, Sheinbaum is the first female general election victor. She still has a difficult road ahead of her. She has to strike a compromise between taking over a big budget deficit and slow economic development, and her pledge to expand popular welfare programs.

Following the release of the preliminary results, she assured supporters that her government would adhere to budgetary responsibility and respect the central bank’s independence. She has promised to increase security, but she hasn’t provided many details. Additionally, the most violent election in Mexico’s recent history—38 candidates were killed—has exacerbated the country’s serious security issues. Numerous commentators claim that during Lopez Obrador’s administration, organized crime groups gained more power and clout.

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 presidency than under any other in Mexico’s recent history.