Mexico poised to elect first female president in 2024 vote
Sep 08, 2023
Mexico City [Mexico], September 8: Mexico is poised to see its first female president, as both the ruling coalition and the opposition have nominated women as candidates for the 2024 election.
The country's ruling party named former mayor of Mexico City Claudia Sheinbaum as its candidate for the June 2 election, the three-party coalition National Regeneration Movement (Morena) announced on Wednesday.
Last week, the centrist opposition alliance FrenteAmpliopor Mexico (Broad Front for Mexico) elected senator and computer engineer XochitlGalvez as its candidate.
Sheinbaum prevailed over five rivals in her party for the nomination. One of her competitors, former foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard, denounced irregularities in the process and spoke of an unfair procedure.
Sheinbaum is close to President Andres Manuel LopezObrador, who is not allowed to run again after six years in office. Sheinbaum is a former mayor of Mexico City who has long been considered a favorite to get the nomination. She was officially named Morena's pick after winning an internal survey on the party's candidate.
Born in Mexico City in 1962, Sheinbaum has a degree in physics and a PhD in energy engineering.
She served as Mexico City's secretary of the environment in the year 2000, when Obrador was the city's mayor. Since then, she has maintained a close relationship with the outgoing leader, supporting him in his three political campaigns for presidency.
Her main rival Galvez was officially named on Sunday as the candidate of the alliance of opposition parties "FrenteAmplioPor Mexico," Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) announced on its X account, formerly known as Twitter.
PRI is the main opposition party to Morena. The coalition "FrenteAmplioPor Mexico" (The Broad Front for Mexico) is made up of three opposition parties; the National Action Party (PAN), the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) and PRI. Galvez is a senator for PAN.
"What the president (LopezObrador) wants is to beat me; he is not going to beat me. I am a brave and forward-thinking woman, so this is just the beginning," Galvez told CNN enEspañol in July.
Source: Qatar Tribune
