Claudia Sheinbaum was elected Mexico’s first female president by a landslide on Sunday, according to early official results, marking history in a country plagued by widespread criminal and gender-based violence.
In Mexico City’s main square, crowds of flag-waving supporters sang and danced to mariachi music to celebrate the triumph of the ruling party candidate.
The 61-year-old former Mexico City mayor, who is a scientist by training, received approximately 58–60 percent of the vote, according to the National Electoral Institute, following a rapid count.
That was more than 30 percentage points ahead of her major opponent, Xochitl Galvez, and around 50 percentage points ahead of the lone guy running, long-shot centrist Jorge Alvarez Mayne.
Voters rushed to polling centres around the Latin American country amid sporadic bloodshed in areas terrorised by ultra-violent drug cartels.
Thousands of troops were deployed to protect voters during a particularly deadly electoral process that saw more than two dozen aspiring local leaders assassinated.
Earlier, Sheinbaum praised a “historic” election day. After casting her ballot, she stated that she had voted for Ifigenia Martinez, a 93-year-old veteran socialist, in acknowledgment of her struggle.
“Long live democracy!” Sheinbaum declared.
After the polls, Galvez urged her fans to keep a close eye on the count.
“We are competing against authoritarianism and power, and they are capable of anything,” said the 61-year-old senator and businesswoman with Indigenous roots.
Close to 100 million people were registered to vote in the world’s most populous Spanish-speaking country, with 129 million people.
Sheinbaum owes most of her popularity to outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a fellow leftist and mentor with an approval rating of more than 60% but only a one-term limit.
