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Mexico's presidential candidate for Morena party Claudia Sheinbaum celebrates following the results of the general election at Zocalo Square in Mexico City, on June 3, 2024. - Claudia Sheinbaum was set to be elected Mexico's first woman president, exit polls showed, a milestone in a country with a history of gender-based violence. (Photo by YURI CORTEZ / AFP)

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Mexico

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1717401986834AFP__20240603__34UR8Y8__v1__HighRes__MexicoElectionVoteSheinbaum.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Claudia Sheinbaum was set to be elected Mexico&#x27;s first woman president, exit polls showed, a milestone in a country with a history of gender-based violence. <em>Photo by Alfredo Estrella/AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Claudia Sheinbaum was elected Mexico&#x27;s first woman president by a landslide Sunday, making history in a country plagued by rampant criminal and gender-based violence.</p><p>Crowds of flag-waving supporters sang and danced to mariachi music in Mexico City&#x27;s main square celebrating the ruling party candidate&#x27;s victory.</p><p>&quot;I want to thank millions of Mexican women and men who decided to vote for us on this historic day,&quot; Sheinbaum said in a victory speech to the cheering crowd.</p><p>&quot;I won&#x27;t fail you,&quot; the 61-year-old former Mexico City mayor vowed.</p><p>She thanked her main opposition rival Xochitl Galvez, who conceded defeat.</p><p>Sheinbaum, a scientist by training, won around 58-60 percent of votes, according to preliminary official results from the National Electoral Institute.</p><p>That was more than 30 percentage points ahead of Galvez, and some 50 percentage points ahead of the only man running, long-shot centrist Jorge Alvarez Maynez.</p><p>Voters had flocked to polling stations across the Latin American nation, despite sporadic violence in areas terrorized by ultra-violent drug cartels.</p><p>Thousands of troops were deployed to protect voters, following a particularly bloody electoral process that has seen more than two dozen aspiring local politicians murdered.</p><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="3050730"></ivs-player></div><script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script><div><strong>&#x27;TRANSFORMATION&#x27;</strong></div><p>Mexican women going to the polls had cheered the prospect of a woman breaking the highest political glass ceiling in a country where around 10 women or girls are murdered every day.</p><p>&quot;A female president will be a transformation for this country, and we hope that she does more for women,&quot; said Clemencia Hernandez, a 55-year-old cleaner in Mexico City.</p><p>&quot;Many women are subjugated by their partners. They&#x27;re not allowed to leave home to work,&quot; she said.</p><p>Daniela Perez, 30, said that having a woman president would be &quot;something historic,&quot; even though neither of the two main candidates was &quot;totally feminist&quot; in her view.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;ll have to see their positions on improving women&#x27;s rights, resolving the issue of femicides -- which have gone crazy -- supporting women more,&quot; added the logistics company manager.</p><p>Nearly 100 million people were registered to vote in the world&#x27;s most populous Spanish-speaking country, home to 129 million people.</p><p>Sheinbaum owes much of her popularity to outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a fellow leftist and mentor who has an approval rating of more than 60 percent but is only allowed to serve one term.</p><p>Lopez Obrador congratulated his ally with &quot;all my affection and respect.&quot;</p><p>As well as being the first woman to lead Mexico, &quot;she is also the president with possibly the most votes obtained in the history of our country,&quot; he said.</p><p>After casting her ballot, Sheinbaum revealed she had not voted for herself but for a 93-year-old veteran leftist, Ifigenia Martinez, in recognition of her struggle.</p><div><strong>&#x27;HUGS NOT BULLETS&#x27;</strong></div><p>In a nation where politics, crime and corruption are closely entangled, drug cartels went to extreme lengths to ensure that their preferred candidates win.</p><p>Hours before polls opened, a local candidate was murdered in a violent western state, authorities said, joining at least 25 other political hopefuls killed this election season, according to official figures.</p><p>In the central Mexican state of Puebla, two people died after unknown persons attacked polling stations to steal papers, a local government security source told AFP.</p><p>Voting was suspended in two municipalities in the southern state of Chiapas because of violence.</p><p>Sheinbaum has pledged to continue the outgoing president&#x27;s controversial &quot;hugs not bullets&quot; strategy of tackling crime at its roots.</p><p>Galvez vowed a tougher approach to cartel-related violence, declaring &quot;hugs for criminals are over.&quot;</p><p>More than 450,000 people have been murdered and tens of thousands have gone missing since the government deployed the army to fight drug trafficking in 2006.</p><p>The next president will also have to manage delicate relations with the neighboring United States, in particular the vexed issues of cross-border drug smuggling and migration.</p><p>As well as choosing a new president, Mexicans voted for members of Congress, several state governors and myriad local officials -- a total of more than 20,000 positions.</p><div><strong>— By Daniel Rook and Jean Arce, </strong><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><strong>Agence France-Presse</strong></span><strong> </strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LMjEf-lDzQY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Claudia Sheinbaum was elected Mexico's first woman president by a landslide, making history in a country plagued by rampant criminal and gender-based violence.</p>

Claudia Sheinbaum was elected Mexico's first woman president by a landslide, making history in a country plagued by rampant criminal and gender-based violence.