Mexico’s ruling party declared Claudia Scheinbaum the “overwhelming” winner of the presidential election after Sunday’s presidential election, seeking to become the country’s first female president.
According to exit polls, pollster Parametria predicted Sheinbaum with 56% of the vote, compared to 30% for opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez.
Sheinbaum is predicted to win the other four elections.
Provisional results will be available in the next few hours. Galvez disagreed and asked his supporters to be patient with the official results.
A win for Sheinbaum would be a major step forward for Mexico, known for its macho culture.
Scheinbaum’s ruling MORENA party also declared its candidate the winner of one of Mexico City’s most important mayoral races, although the opposition disputed this and said its candidate won the race.
Sunday’s vote was lost at a polling station in the state of Puebla, where two people were killed and a string of attacks made Mexico’s biggest election the most violent in recent history. The violence raised concerns about the threat to democracy from drug cartels, with 38 candidates killed.
Security fears dominated the election for many voters, and Sheinbaum will be tasked with fighting organized crime. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s tenure has killed more people than any other government in Mexico’s modern history.
Pre-election polls show that MORENA and his allies will not be able to secure a two-thirds majority in Congress. It will be difficult for Scheinbaum to push for constitutional reform from the former opposition party.
Relations with the United States
Among the new president’s challenges are the large flow of migrants crossing into Mexico and security cooperation to tackle drug trafficking amid the fentanyl epidemic in the United States.
Mexican officials expect these talks to become more difficult if US President Donald Trump wins in November. Trump has said he will impose 100% tariffs on Chinese cars made in Mexico and will gather special forces to fight cartels.
At home, the next president will be tasked with addressing electricity and water shortages and forcing factories to relocate as part of a growing trend to move supply chains closer to key markets.
The winner of the election will have to contend with two decades of declining production and what to do with the debt-ridden state oil company Pemex.
Sheinbaum has pledged to expand the social security program even though Mexico is running a big deficit this year and will slow down to only 1.5% growth next year, estimated by the central bank.
López Obrador has drawn attention to a campaign that wants to turn the vote into a referendum on the political agenda. Sheinbaum said the opposition will be a “puppet” of Lopez Obrador, but he will continue policies that help Mexico’s poorest.
Political analyst Viri Rios said she thinks it’s pure sexism for those who believe Sheinbaum will make it.
