Mexico is preparing for a unique presidential election at the end of this week, in which Mexicans will elect a female president for the first time. Experts say that the candidates, two women, face challenges such as armed violence, government interference, and the erosion of democratic entities, in addition to security, migration, and the water crisis. Youth will also have a remarkable impact on this election.
In Mexico, two women are competing for the presidency in the 2024 elections for the first time in the country’s history after the ruling Morena Party named the former mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, as a candidate, as well as opposition candidate Suchil Galvez (60 years old) after she won the primary elections for a front that includes three opposition parties. Thus, In 2024, one of them is likely to succeed outgoing President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador to lead the second-largest economy in Latin America.
The presidential candidate of the ruling Morena Party, Claudia Sheinbaum, spoke alongside the head of the Morena Party and the general coordinator of Sheinbaum’s presidential campaign, Mario Delgado, and Gerardo Fernandez Noronha, on the day of the first presidential debate on the facilities of the presidential headquarters. Maria Dolores del Río said after Claudia Sheinbaum’s visit to Hermosillo, Mexico will have its first female president, and it will be about transformation. Del Rio said: As a woman, I am very moved, excited and happy to witness this historic event: Mexico will have its first female president, and it will be a transformational woman. Hermosillo’s votes are reflected in Sheinbaum’s victory as president of Mexico on June 2.
The Spanish newspaper El Debaté said that on this weekend, Mexicans will go to the polls to choose their first female president: the ruling party, Claudia Sheinbaum, or the opposition, Xochitl Galvez. Analysts estimate that the race will be characterized by the ability of current President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to achieve continuity of his government through Sheinbaum. Or the opposition in presenting a new proposal.
The latest opinion polls, published by El Financhero newspaper at the beginning of the month and compiled by the Spanish EFE agency, show that Sheinbaum is the most likely candidate with 52% of the votes and Galvez with 30%. In addition to the presidency, the positions of state governors will be determined in nine states. There are 500 representatives and 128 senators, and Mexico’s National Electoral Institute estimates that there are more than 99 million people entitled to vote.
For us in Mexico, this is the most important election in the last 30 years,” Veronica Ortiz, a political analyst at El Heraldo de Mexico newspaper, said during an event held by the Wilson Center in Washington. “We have a large number of contested public offices,” she added.
Ortiz explained that both Sheinbaum and Galvez will have to face challenges such as organised crime and the high number of murders. During Lopez Obrador’s six-year term, the National Public Security System recorded more than 161,518 murders, a greater number than any other term. She added that the additional challenge is the erosion of democratic institutions, especially the Electoral Court, which is still incomplete with five of its seven members because the Senate has not made new appointments.
Water shortages in Mexico have reached alarming levels in 2024, as 75% of its territory suffers from some degree of drought, according to data from the National Water Commission (CONAGUA). Therefore, the water shortage crisis is considered the biggest challenge facing the country in the presidential elections scheduled for… June 2, 2024.
