MEXICO CITY: Claudia Sheinbaum was elected Mexico’s first woman president by a victory Sunday, preliminary official results suggested, making history in a country long plagued by gender-based violence. The ruling party candidate won about 58-60 percent of votes, over 30 percentage points ahead of her main opposition rival Xochitl Galvez, the National Electoral Institute announced following a quick count.
Two people were killed in violence at polling centers on Sunday in the midst of Mexico’s historic polls likely to make leftist Claudia Sheinbaum, the ruling party candidate, the country’s first female president.
Voting was suspended at one polling place following a person was killed in a shooting in Coyomeapan, a town in the state of Puebla, the state electoral official reported in the afternoon. The state attorney general also confirmed another death at a polling center in Tlapanala.
Mexico’s largest-ever polls have also been the most violent in recent history, with the murders of 38 candidates, including a local candidate who was seriously shot on Saturday night. The deadly violence has also stoked concerns regarding the threat of warring drug cartels to democracy.
Sheinbaum, who has led in opinion polls over her main contented Xochitl Galvez, will be tasked with facing organized crime violence, if elected. More people were killed during the mandate of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador than during any other administration in the country’s modern history.
A win by either woman would represent a major step for the Mexico, a nation known for its macho culture. The winner, set to start a six-year term on October, 1.
On her way to vote on Sunday, Sheinbaum said it was a “historic day” and that she felt at ease and content. She added that everyone must get out to vote in the country’s elections. She hoped that the people would vote her.
Polls show that Morena, the ruling part of Lopez Obrador and Sheinbaum, is expected to fall short of securing a two-thirds majority in Congress. That would make it more tough for Sheinbaum to push constitutional reforms past opposition parties.
Analysts said that challenges ahead for the next president also include addressing water and electricity shortages and luring manufacturers to relocate as part of the nearshoring trend, in which firms move supply chains closer to their main markets.
READ ALSO: India Aiding Israel in Gaza Genocide by Supplying Lethal Explosive, Bombs
Both candidates have pledged to expand welfare programs, though Mexico has a large deficit this year and sluggish GDP increase of just 1.5 % expected by the central bank next year. The new elected president will also face tense talks with the US over the huge flows of US-bound migrants crossing Mexico and cooperation over drug trafficking at a time when the US fentanyl epidemic rages.
