Sheinbaum makes history as first female president elected in Mexico.
The incoming Mexican president, Sheinbaum, will predominantly handle the excessive crime rates and drug cartel chaos in the Latin American nation along with poverty. As a nominee for the left-wing Morena Party, she is succeeding the outlawed President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Sheinbaum expressed gratitude to the multitude of Mexican women and men who determined the election in her favor on this milestone day. At the center of Mexico City's Zócalo Square, throngs of her devotees brandished flags and danced to Mexican folk music while the National Palace, the site of the presidency, watched on.
Her main competitor, a center-right candidate named Xochitl Gálvez, secured 26 to 28% of the votes, according to the electoral agency. Gálvez acquiesced to her defeat. Less than 11% of the electorate voted for the lone male contender, Jorge Álvarez Maynez.
Facing belligerent drug cartel threats, Mexicans dutifully cast their ballots on Sunday. To ensure their safety, thousands of troops were dispatched. Drugs-fueled brutality stretched from the murder of a 35-year-old candidate in Michoacán state to a double fatality at a central Mexican polling station, to abandoned votes in two communities in chaotic southern Chiapas state.
The Mexican favorite, Sheinbaum, widely known for her tenure as the capital city's mayor, had a resounding advantage in the contest. During the election's three-month duration, her Morena Party opponent, Gálvez (a three-party coalition nominee), always trailed. Sheinbaum, granddaughter of European Jews, promised to carry on Obrador's "hugs instead of bullets" initiative, aiming to eradicate crime from its source by tackling poverty and de-empowering drug cartels. Obrador congratulated Sheinbaum on her breakthrough win.
Nearly 100 million Mexicans were eligible to cast their vote on Sunday. The polls not only decided on a new president in Latin America's second-largest country but also distributed Congress roles, elected governors in nine states, and chose numerous local politicians. Over 20,000 positions were at stake in this extensive election.
In the efforts to transform Mexican society, Sheinbaum pledged in her victory speech that her Morena Party had obtained a "qualified majority" in the House of Reps and was "highly likely" to rule the Senate. The Republican Party held a triumphant victory in Mexico City, as well, with their candidate Carla Brugada as the preliminary winner.
In recent years, Mexico has recorded a daunting scale of homicides, wherein approximately 450,000 have succumbed to violence since 2006. Mexico registers 30,000 annual deaths, averaging 80 murders per day. It's estimated that more than ten women are killed each day in Mexico. "Our society is rife with violence, sexism, and misogyny," said a poignant Lol-Kin Castaneda, a 48-year-old woman waiting through the night for Sheinbaum's address. The new chief can "really make a difference in not only modifying the law but also the culture."
