Physicist in the lead

Claudia Sheinbaum becomes Mexico’s first female president

A physicist at the head of state: Claudia Sheinbaum has made it!

(Bild: AFP)

Government candidate Claudia Sheinbaum has won the presidential election in Mexico according to the election authority's forecast based on partial results. The 61-year-old thus becomes the first female president of the most populous Spanish-speaking country.

According to a projection by the electoral authority INE on Monday morning (CEST), the left-wing politician was unattainably ahead on the basis of partial results. According to the projection, the former mayor of Mexico City received more than 50 percent of the vote. A simple majority is enough to win the election.

Graphic: Results of the Mexican electoral authority (as of 9.21 a.m.)

(Bild: https://prep2024.ine.mx/publicacion/nacional/presidencia/candidatura)

Projection postponed several times
Sheinbaum, candidate of the ruling left-wing Morena party, is likely to receive 58 to 60 percent of the vote according to the INE forecast. Opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez - a tech entrepreneur and former senator with no party affiliation - is in second place with 26.6 to 28.6 percent of the vote.

The electoral authority's projection was postponed several times without explanation.

About Claudia Sheinbaum

Sheinbaum is a trained physicist from a family of Jewish descent with roots in Lithuania and Bulgaria. She became mayor of Mexico City in December 2018. She resigned from office around a year ago to become a presidential candidate. Sheinbaum is a close confidante of left-wing populist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who was not allowed to run again after his six-year term of office according to the constitution.

With 37% of the votes counted, Sheinbaum received around 57% of the votes according to the electoral authority's data, while her rival Gálvez received just under 30%. The only man among the candidates, Jorge Álvarez Máynez, received around ten percent. 

(Bild: AP)

(Bild: AP)

20,000 public offices newly filled
In addition to the presidency, the largest election day in the history of the Latin American country also saw new appointments to Congress, the governments of several federal states and more than 20,000 public offices.

Almost 100 million citizens entitled to vote were called to the polls. Both the election campaign and the casting of votes were marked by violent incidents. The media reported violence outside some polling stations. The head of state takes office on October 1.