Claudia Sheinbaum Becomes Mexico’s First Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum became Mexico’s first female president, with a landslide victory Sunday.

Crowds of flag-waving fans sang and danced to mariachi music in Mexico City’s main square to celebrate the ruling party candidate’s triumph.

In a victory address to the applauding throng, Sheinbaum said, “I want to thank millions of Mexican women and men who decided to vote for us on this historic day”.

“I won’t fail you”, Sheinbaum vowed.

The 61-year-old former Mexico City mayor thanked her main opponent, Xochitl Galvez, who surrendered defeat.

Claudia Sheinbaum, a physicist by training, received approximately 58-60 percent of ballots. That was more than 30 percentage points ahead of Galvez, and nearly 50 points ahead of the other candidate, long-shot centrist Jorge Alvarez Maynez.

Voters rushed to polling centres across the Latin American nation, amid sporadic bloodshed in areas terrorized by ultra-violent drug cartels.

Thousands of troops were deployed to protect voters after a particularly bloody election in which more than two dozen aspiring local leaders were assassinated.

Before the current presidential election, in which Sheinbaum maintained a substantial lead over opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez, only two women had formally sought Mexico’s presidency. They both failed.

Several important Mexican institutions, including the Supreme Court, the Senate, and the National Electoral Institute, are currently run by women.

Mexico ranks third among Latin American countries in terms of the proportion of women in the national Cabinet (44%), with 10 female governors among its 32 states.

However, men retain dominance in some Indigenous villages.

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