Reuters Claudia Sheinbaum gestures to supporters after being declared the winner of the presidential election according to the INE electoral institute’s rapid sample count, in the Zocalo plaza in Mexico City, Mexico June 3, 2024. Reuters
Claudia Sheinbaum will be Mexico’s first ever female president
Claudia Sheinbaum has been elected as Mexico’s first woman president in an historic landslide win.
Mexico’s official electoral authority said preliminary results showed the 61-year-old former mayor of Mexico City winning between 58% and 60% of the vote in Sunday’s election.
That gives her a lead of about 30 percentage points over her main rival, businesswoman Xóchitl Gálvez.
Ms Sheinbaum will replace her mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on 1 October.
Supporters of Presidential candidate for the ruling Morena party, Claudia Sheinbaum, gather to celebrate following the results of the 2024 Mexico’s presidential elections, at Zocalo square, in Mexico City, Mexico on June 03, 2024.
The election of a woman to the highest office was an emotional moment for some
Ms Sheinbaum, a former energy scientist, has promised continuity, saying that she will continue to build on the “advances” made by Mr López Obrador, further building on the welfare programmes which have made the outgoing president very popular.
But in her victory speech she also highlighted what has set this Mexican election apart from previous ones. She told cheering voters: “For the first time in the 200 years of the [Mexican] Republic, I will become the first woman president of Mexico.”
She said it was an achievement not just for her but for all women.
“I’ve said it from the start, this is not just about me getting [to the top office], it’s about all of us getting here.”
She added: “I won’t fail you.”
Ms Sheinbaum also thanked her rival, Xóchitl Gálvez, who has conceded victory.