Mexico’s ruling party has announced Claudia Sheinbaum as the winner of the presidential election by a “significant margin” after polls closed on Sunday. This victory paves the way for her to become Mexico’s first woman president.
By breaking the highest political glass ceiling in the country, she becomes its first woman president.
According to exit polls by Parametria, Sheinbaum is expected to win with a landslide majority of 56% while opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez is projected to get 30%.
Four other exit polls also showed that Sheinbaum was going to win.
Provisional results will be released over next few hours. Galvez has not yet conceded and has advised her supporters to wait patiently for the official results.
A victory for Sheinbaum would be an important milestone in a highly macho culture of Mexico. The term starts on October 1stfor whoever wins.
“I had never thought I would one day vote for a woman,” said Edelmira Montiel, 87 years old from Tlaxcala, Mexico’s smallest state, who supports Sheinbaum earlier on Sunday.
“Previously we could not even vote and when we did it was for that person our husband told us,” Montiel added. “Thank God things have changed and I can witness this”
Sheinbaum’s MORENA party also declared victory in the race for mayor of Mexico City, one of the most important contests in the country but this is being contested by those in opposition who say their choice won instead.
Sunday’s elections were marred by two deaths at polling stations in Puebla state; adding to numerous acts of violence making it modern-day Mexico’s most violent election period. Security concerns were front and center for many voters including organized crime issues which must be tackled head-on by Sheinbaum.The current administration led by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has seen more murders than any previous Mexican government, but the homicide rate fell during his term.
Pre-election polls had suggested that MORENA and its allies were unlikely to secure a two-thirds majority in Congress, which would make it harder for Sheinbaum to pass constitutional reforms against other opposition parties.
Lopez Obrador loomed large over the campaign, framing the vote as a referendum on his political agenda. For her part, Sheinbaum has denied claims by the opposition that she will be a “puppet” of Lopez Obrador though she has promised to continue with many of his policies particularly those aimed at helping Mexico’s poorest.
Commenting on this notion that Sheinbaum is a puppet, political analyst Viri Rios maintained that it was infused with sexism.
“I can’t believe people can’t believe she’ll make her own choices, I think in large part because she’s a woman,” Rios said.