Scarlett Shin '27
The 2024 upcoming presidential election in Mexico is bringing new opportunities, as two women have won the primaries of the two leading political parties. In a global context, this is the first time two major female candidates are running against each other in history.
Claudia Sheinbaum, 61, has secured a position as a presidential candidate representing Morena, in Mexico's 2024 election scheduled for June 2. Morena is the leading left-wing party of the country. As of now, the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also the founder of Morena, works closely with Claudia. She served as Mexico City’s mayor in 2018, has a degree in physics, and a Ph.D. in energy engineering. She is on track to make history, likely becoming the first woman president.
Her main opponent, also female, Senator Xóchitl Gálvez, was announced as PRI’s presidential nominee. She was formerly the mayor of Mexico City and has a background in computer engineering.
The introduction of women in politics has only occurred recently. From gaining the right to vote in 1953, to a gender-balanced congress, this is a stunning accomplishment for these two women. Since 2021, women have made up 50% of the legislature, despite politics typically being a male-dominated field.
Maricruz Ocampo, a Mexican woman rights activist, looking at a positive future for women, comments that the 2024 race, “is going to signify a turn in the way that we see women in politics.”
Much of Mexico’s history contributes to the development of females in politics. The transition from an authoritarian state to a multiparty democracy in the 90’s, aided to gender parity. Women argued that the government would never be a true democracy if females did not have equal participation in politics.
The future holds many possibilities, and the outcome of the election is unknown, however the accomplishments of women thus far are remarkable.
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