NEW DELHI: Mexico’s ruling party announced Claudia Sheinbaum as the winner of the presidential election by a “significant margin” after polls closed on Sunday, positioning her to become the country’s first female president.
With the win, she becomes the first woman president by breaking the highest political glass ceiling in the country.
According to exit polls by Parametria, Sheinbaum is projected to win a landslide victory with 56% of the vote, while opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez is expected to secure 30%.
Four other exit polls also indicated a win for Sheinbaum.
Provisional results will be released over the next few hours. Galvez has not conceded and urged her supporters to await the official results patiently.
A victory for Sheinbaum would mark a significant milestone for Mexico, a country with a strong macho culture. The winner will commence a six-year term on October 1.
“I never imagined I would one day vote for a woman,” said 87-year-old Edelmira Montiel, a Sheinbaum supporter from Tlaxcala, Mexico’s smallest state, earlier on Sunday.
“Previously, we couldn’t even vote, and when we could, it was for the person our husband told us to vote for. Thank God things have changed, and I get to experience this,” Montiel added.
Sheinbaum’s ruling MORENA party has also declared victory in the Mexico City mayorship race, one of the country’s key contests, though the opposition disputes this and claims its own nominee won.
Sunday’s vote was overshadowed by the killing of two people at polling stations in Puebla state, adding to the multiple attacks that have made this the most violent election in Mexico’s modern history. Thirty-eight candidates were killed, raising concerns about the impact of warring drug cartels on democracy.
Security concerns were prominent for many voters, and Sheinbaum will need to address organized crime. The current administration, led by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has seen more killings than any other in Mexico’s modern history, though the homicide rate has declined during his term.
Pre-election polls suggested that MORENA and its allies would likely not achieve a two-thirds majority in Congress, making it more challenging for Sheinbaum to pass constitutional reforms against opposition parties.
Lopez Obrador has been a significant figure in the campaign, framing the vote as a referendum on his political agenda. Sheinbaum has denied opposition claims that she would be a “puppet” of Lopez Obrador, though she has committed to continuing many of his policies, particularly those benefiting Mexico’s poorest citizens.
Political analyst Viri Rios argued that assumptions of Sheinbaum being a puppet are rooted in sexism.
“It’s unbelievable that people can’t believe she’ll make her own decisions, and I think that’s largely because she’s a woman,” Rios said.
With the win, she becomes the first woman president by breaking the highest political glass ceiling in the country.
According to exit polls by Parametria, Sheinbaum is projected to win a landslide victory with 56% of the vote, while opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez is expected to secure 30%.
Four other exit polls also indicated a win for Sheinbaum.
Provisional results will be released over the next few hours. Galvez has not conceded and urged her supporters to await the official results patiently.
A victory for Sheinbaum would mark a significant milestone for Mexico, a country with a strong macho culture. The winner will commence a six-year term on October 1.
“I never imagined I would one day vote for a woman,” said 87-year-old Edelmira Montiel, a Sheinbaum supporter from Tlaxcala, Mexico’s smallest state, earlier on Sunday.
“Previously, we couldn’t even vote, and when we could, it was for the person our husband told us to vote for. Thank God things have changed, and I get to experience this,” Montiel added.
Sheinbaum’s ruling MORENA party has also declared victory in the Mexico City mayorship race, one of the country’s key contests, though the opposition disputes this and claims its own nominee won.
Sunday’s vote was overshadowed by the killing of two people at polling stations in Puebla state, adding to the multiple attacks that have made this the most violent election in Mexico’s modern history. Thirty-eight candidates were killed, raising concerns about the impact of warring drug cartels on democracy.
Security concerns were prominent for many voters, and Sheinbaum will need to address organized crime. The current administration, led by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has seen more killings than any other in Mexico’s modern history, though the homicide rate has declined during his term.
Pre-election polls suggested that MORENA and its allies would likely not achieve a two-thirds majority in Congress, making it more challenging for Sheinbaum to pass constitutional reforms against opposition parties.
Lopez Obrador has been a significant figure in the campaign, framing the vote as a referendum on his political agenda. Sheinbaum has denied opposition claims that she would be a “puppet” of Lopez Obrador, though she has committed to continuing many of his policies, particularly those benefiting Mexico’s poorest citizens.
Political analyst Viri Rios argued that assumptions of Sheinbaum being a puppet are rooted in sexism.
“It’s unbelievable that people can’t believe she’ll make her own decisions, and I think that’s largely because she’s a woman,” Rios said.