Mexican Projected presidential winner Claudia Sheinbaum She will become the first female president in the country's 200-year history.
“I will be the first female president of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said with a smile at a downtown hotel shortly after election authorities announced that a sample showed her ahead. “I didn't do it alone. We all did it, with our heroes who gave us our country, with our mothers, daughters and granddaughters.”
“We have proven that Mexico is a democracy and that elections are peaceful,” she said.
The president of the National Electoral Council said that, depending on the sample, Scheinbaum's vote share was between 58.3% and 60.7%. Opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez received between 26.6% and 28.6%, while Jorge Álvarez Máynez received between 9.9% and 10.8%. Scheinbaum's Morena party is also expected to have a majority in both houses of Congress.
The climate scientist and former Mexico City mayor said her two rivals had called her to acknowledge her victory.
The official preliminary vote count, based on preliminary results from nearly 50% of polling stations, showed Sheinbaum leading Galvez by 28 percentage points.
The fact that both leading candidates are women leaves little doubt that Mexico will make history on Sunday. Sheinbaum would also be the first Jewish person to lead the majority-Catholic country.
She will begin her six-year term on October 1. Mexico's constitution does not allow for re-election.
The leftist said she believes government has an important role to play in addressing economic inequality and providing a solid social safety net, just like her political mentor, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Sheinbaum’s victory suggests the political movement created by López Obrador will survive his departure from office.
His designated successor, 61-year-old Sheinbaum, led the campaign from start to finish despite a fierce challenge from Galvez. It was the first time in Mexico that both main opponents were women.
“Of course, with great respect, I congratulate Claudia Sheinbaum, who won with a huge margin,” López Obrador said shortly after election authorities announced the results. “She will be the first (female) president of Mexico in 200 years.”
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If that advantage holds, he would be close to his 2018 landslide victory. López Obrador won the presidency with 53.2% of the vote after two failed attempts at the polls, with the PAN taking 22.3% and the PRI 16.5% in a three-way race.
Still, it is unlikely that Sheinbaum will enjoy the same unconditional loyalty as López Obrador.
In the Zocalo, Mexico City’s colonial-era main square, Sheinbaum’s victory did not draw the same jubilant crowds that López Obrador’s victory in 2018 did. Those present were enthusiastic but relatively small.
“I promise I won’t let you down,” Sheinbaum said when he arrived at the square.
Sara Ríos, 76, a retired literature professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, celebrated when she heard that Galvez had conceded defeat.
“The only way we can move forward is by working together,” Rios said. “She will work to bring peace to the country and will work to make progress, but it is a slow process.”
As he awaited the results in the square, Fernando Fernández, a 28-year-old chef, acknowledged that challenges lay ahead.
“You voted for Claudia out of conviction, you voted for AMLO,” Fernández said, referring to López Obrador by his initials. But his biggest hope is that Sheinbaum can “improve the things that AMLO couldn’t do, which is gasoline prices, crime and drug trafficking, which he didn’t fight despite the power he had.”
The main opposition candidate, Galvez, a tech entrepreneur and former senator, has promised a tougher approach to organized crime.
“I want to emphasize that I recognize (Sheinbaum's victory) and am resolute in my commitment to achieving results and addressing the serious problems facing the country,” she said in her conceding speech.
Nearly 100 million people registered to vote, and turnout was about 60%, similar to previous elections.
Voters also elected governors in nine of the nation's 32 states, as well as candidates for both houses of Congress and thousands of mayors and other local offices. It was the largest election in the country's history, and one that was also rife with violence.
The election is widely seen as a referendum on López Obrador, a populist who has expanded social programs but largely failed to reduce drug cartel violence in Mexico. His “More Party” currently holds 23 of Mexico's 32 governorships and majorities in both houses of Congress.
Sheinbaum pledged to continue all of López Obrador’s policies, including a universal pension for seniors and a program to pay young people for apprenticeships.
Ongoing drug cartel violence and Mexico's mediocre economic performance are major issues for voters.
Julio García, an office worker in Mexico City, said he would vote for the opposition in the San Rafael neighborhood in downtown Mexico City. “They robbed me at gunpoint twice. You have to change direction, change the leadership,” the 34-year-old said. “If we continue like this, we will become Venezuela.”
In the San Andres Toltepec neighborhood on the edge of Mexico City, election officials walked past Stefania Navarrete, a 34-year-old housewife, who saw dozens of photographers and election officials gathered where front-runner Claudia Sheinbaum was set to vote.
Navarrete said that despite her misgivings about López Obrador and his party, she still plans to vote for Scheinbaum.
“For me, being a Mexican woman and having a female president, it's like before, just because you were a woman, you were limited to certain professions. That's not the case anymore.”
She said the social programs of her mentor, Sheinbaum, were vital, but added that the increase in drug cartel violence over the past few years was her main concern in this election.
“That’s something they have to focus on more,” she said. “For me, security is the main challenge. They said they wanted to bring the crime rate down, but the opposite has happened, the crime rate has skyrocketed. Obviously, I don’t blame the president entirely, but to some extent it’s his responsibility.”
López Obrador claims he has reduced the historically high homicide rate by 20% since taking office in December 2018. But much of this is based on a questionable reading of statistics. The actual homicide rate appears to have fallen by only about 4% in six years.
Just as the upcoming rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in November highlighted deep divisions in the United States, Sunday’s election revealed how deeply polarized Mexican opinion is over the country’s direction, including its security strategy and how to develop its economy.
Associated Press writer Fabiola Sánchez contributed to this report.
