Claudia Sheinbaum’s victory in a general election made history for women in the US, Mexico, and Canada
As the next president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum has emerged victorious, carrying on the legacy of her mentor, outgoing leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose appeal to the underprivileged has been a major factor in her success.
With 5% of the vote counted, preliminary results showed Sheinbaum ahead with 59% of the vote to Galvez’s 29%. Galvez has declined to back down and advised her followers to wait for the official findings.
Mexico, which is home to the second-largest Roman Catholic population in the world and is well-known for its macho culture, is taking a significant stride forward with Sheinbaum’s triumph. For years, Mexico has upheld more traditional roles and values for women.
Sheinbaum’s victory in a general election would make history for women in the US, Mexico, and Canada.
Sheinbaum faces a challenging future. She has to strike a compromise between taking over a big budget deficit and slow economic development, and her pledge to expand popular welfare programs.
She promised to increase security, but she hasn’t provided many details. Additionally, the election—which saw 38 candidates killed—was the bloodiest in Mexico’s recent history, which has exacerbated the country’s severe security issues. Many commentators claim that during Lopez Obrador’s administration, organized crime groups increased and strengthened their power.
The deaths of two persons at polling places in the state of Puebla also clouded Sunday’s election results. Although the homicide rate has been gradually declining, more people—over 185,000—have died under Lopez Obrador’s presidency than under any other in Mexico’s recent history.
According to independent political risk analyst for Latin America Nathaniel Parish Flannery, “Sheinbaum will likely struggle to achieve a significant improvement in overall levels of security unless she commits to making a game-changing level of investment in improving policing and reducing impunity.”
One of the most significant positions in the nation, the mayor of Mexico City is chosen by the ruling MORENA party, yet the opposition has challenged this and asserts that its own candidate prevailed.
Mario Delgado, the leader of the party, also stated that it looks like MORENA will have a simple majority in Congress rather than the two-thirds majority needed to advance constitutional amendments without backing from the opposition.
Tense negotiations with the United States over the massive flows of migrants heading for the United States across Mexico and security cooperation against drug trafficking at a time when the fentanyl epidemic rages in the United States will be among the problems facing the incoming president.
If Donald Trump wins the presidency of the United States in November, Mexican officials anticipate that these conversations will be more challenging. In addition to vowing to use special forces to combat the cartels, Trump has threatened to levy 100% taxes on Chinese automobiles manufactured in Mexico.
In the United States, the incoming president will have to deal with issues like water and electricity scarcity and encourage businesses to migrate closer to their primary markets through a practice known as “nearshoring.”
The victor of the election will also need to consider how to handle Pemex, the massive state oil company whose output has been declining for the past 20 years and which is heavily indebted.
Goldman Sachs’ senior Latin America economist, Alberto Ramos, remarked, “It cannot just be that there is an endless pit where you put public money in and the company is never profitable.” “They have to rethink the business model of Pemex.”
Notwithstanding Mexico’s significant deficit this year and the slow GDP growth of just 1.5% predicted by the central bank for next year, Sheinbaum has pledged to increase welfare programs.
The campaign has been dominated by Lopez Obrador, who wants to use the election as a referendum on his political agenda. While Sheinbaum has promised to carry out many of Lopez Obrador’s programs, particularly those that have benefited the poorest citizens of Mexico, she has rejected accusations from the opposition that she would be a “puppet” of the politician.
Political analyst Viri Rios stated that she believed the criticism that Sheinbaum would be a puppet stemmed from sexism.
“It’s unbelievable that people cannot believe she’s going to be making her own decisions, and I think that’s got a lot to do with the fact that she’s female,” she stated.