By Luis Romero Gómez (*) -On October 17, 1953, constitutional reform granted women the right to vote in Mexico, and two years later, women cast votes in a federal election. Now, nearly 70 years later, Mexico has elected a woman president for the first time, according to Sunday's election results.
According to preliminary projections announced by Mexico's National Electoral Institute (INE) at around midnight Sunday local time, Claudia Sheinbaum of the ruling National Regeneration Movement (MoReNa) Party was poised to become the first woman president of the traditionally macho Latino country. The INE's calculations showed Sheinbaum would be garnering between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote. Turnout was between 60% and 61.5%, it was also reported. Over 99.5 million Mexicans were registered to vote.
Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum has been appointed to run for president on behalf of the ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena) Party in 2024. Sheinbaun was elected through a controversial process of surveys which ended up showing she had about 40% of the voting intention. Sheinbaum's main rival in the primaries, former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, questioned the validity of the mechanism.
Mexico's opposition coalition has named an outspoken female senator with indigenous roots as their candidate for the 2024 presidential election, raising the prospect of Mexico having a female president for the first time, when the general election next June.
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum came under heavy flak Thursday for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for the alleged manipulation of a study which recommended the use of ivermectin to treat this disease.
The mayor of Mexico City warned on Friday of a possible resurgence of coronavirus cases in the sprawling capital in the coming months, noting that hospitalizations have been on the rise in recent days.