Mexico could have its first female president, after a groundbreaking vote on June 2, 2024.

After a Election period overshadowed by violenceThe ruling Morena party's candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, a former mayor of Mexico City, emerged victorious with about 60% of the vote – a bigger share of the vote than her mentor and predecessor, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, won in 2018. Sheinbaum defeated her rival Xóchitl Gálvez, a senator from the center-right National Action Party, who trailed by lower than 30%.

Given the importance of this occasion Sheinbaum said: “For the first time in the 200 years of the Republic, I will be the first female president of Mexico.”

But Scientists who study politics and Gender in Mexicowe all know that appearance is one thing, actual performance is one other. Seventy years after Women won the fitting to vote Is Mexico getting closer to changes that might give women true equality?

Unequal fight for gender equality

Women now represent half of Congressafter electoral reforms mandated gender parity in nominations for Mexican parliaments almost a decade ago. And two women, Ana Lilia Rivera and Marcela Guerra Castillo, occupy the highest posts in each houses of Congress. Meanwhile, Norma Lucía Piña is the first woman as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Mexico. The preliminary results of the election night also favor Sheinbaum's Morena party and provides them a Two-thirds majority in CongressTherefore, Sheinbaum will almost definitely have ample support for a feminist political agenda should she pursue one.

But the election of ladies to high office doesn’t necessarily result in a major shift in power. Experts on women in politics call this “descriptive representation“ – when political leaders resemble a gaggle of voters but don’t pursue policies designed to guard them. In contrast, “factual representation“ occurs when public officials pass laws that really profit the groups they supposedly represent.

Scientists studying the difference between the 2, including Sonia Alvarez, Mala Htun And Jennifer Piscopohave found that gains in the general public sphere, reminiscent of the fitting to vote or to carry office, have rarely led to progress for ladies within the private sphere, reminiscent of the fitting to reproductive freedom or protection from domestic violence.

In other words, while Mexico has overtaken many countries, including the United States, in promoting women in political leadership positions, it still has not reached its Stigma of machismo and be History of authoritarianism.

In the Nineties resurgent feminist movement Across Latin America, the reforms led to major breakthroughs in women's rights. By the tip of the last decade, many countries had passed laws against gender-based violence and introduced reforms requiring gender quotas in party nomination lists. In the last 17 years, seven women have been elected president in Central and South America.

But the fight for gender equality is uneven. Mexico is a rustic that remains to be shaken by high femicide rateGovernment data shows that on average Every day 10 women and girls are killed by partners or relations.

Government accused of harassment

An enormous query now is whether or not Sheinbaum will give you the chance to deal with the problem of gender-based violence, something her predecessors did not do.

Any skepticism in regards to the willingness of Sheinbaum’s government to implement a real feminist agenda could be justified: her campaign theme was continuity, and she or he has hesitated up to now deviate far, if in any respect, from Lopez Obrador’s agenda.

Under López Obrador, Morena was accused of downplaying the extent of the femicide crisis. At least one critic claimed that López Obrador was “the primary president to categorically deny” the violence.

Instead, López Obrador used his every day press conference “tomorrow” to report Verbal attacks against women in office, including Sheinbaum's defeated rival Gálvez. In July 2023, the independent National Electoral Institute found Lopez Obrador guilty of targeting Galvez with derogatory remarks about her gender.

López Obrador also condemned Piña, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, where Mexico's National Association of Judges has described as hate speech and the federal judiciary sentenced as “gender-based violence” and hatred against them. His statements at a rally in March incited his followers to burn Piña in effigywhich led critics to imagine that such attacks not only reflect López Obrador’s aversion to checks and balances, but The aim is to undermine women in positions of power.

Mexico's client politics

Observers see Sheinbaum as López Obrador’s hand-picked successor: He has publicly supported her, and she or he has vowed to proceed his “fourth transformation,” a campaign promise to finish government corruption and reduce poverty that Mixed results.

Sheinbaum's record as mayor of Mexico City is equally mixed. She has publicly described herself as feminist and has criticized Prosecutors for covering up the murder of 27-year-old Ariadna Lopez. At the identical time, Sheinbaum attempted to criminalize participants a mass protest against the hundreds of ladies who’ve disappeared lately, claiming that these demonstrations were violent.

Political scientists have shown that even when politicians change, the actors behind the scenes can remain the identical – especially in Mexico, where political parties entangled in client politics – when party leaders reward loyalty by deciding who runs for office and who keeps their post when the federal government is handed over to a brand new administration.

Sheinbaum will likely remain committed to the Morena coalition and rely heavily on López Obrador to implement its policies.

A feminist future?

During the election campaign, Sheinbaum and her rival Gálvez Advocates And shared their experiences as women.

But in the ultimate stages of the campaign, neither Sheinbaum nor Gálvez could offer potential voters greater than the “historic first” argument. Therefore, the expansion of ladies's rights under the brand new government stays uncertain.

Beyond front-line politics, there was progress on women's rights in Mexico when politicians committed to substantive change.

In particular, under Pinã, the Mexican Supreme Court declared all federal and state laws Abortion ban unconstitutionalWhen Piña took office, promised to fight for ladies's rights in her agenda. So far she has delivered.

If Sheinbaum hopes to realize similar success, she must follow Pinã's example and focus her programs on the problems that the majority affect women of their every day lives, starting with the rising rate of femicides. Women could also be gaining political power in Mexico, however the query now is whether or not they may use it to fight for the ladies they represent.

This is an updated version of an article originally published on November 13, 2023.

politics

MEXICO CITY (AP) – The likely winner of the Mexican presidential election Claudia Sheinbaum can be the primary female president within the country's 200-year history.

“I will be the first female president of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said, smiling at a downtown hotel, shortly after electoral authorities announced that a statistical sample showed she had an irreversible lead. “I cannot do this alone. We all did it, with our heroines who gave us our homeland, with our mothers, our daughters and our granddaughters.”

“We have shown that Mexico is a democratic country with peaceful elections,” she said.

The president of the National Electoral Institute said that based on a statistical sample, Sheinbaum received between 58.3 and 60.7 percent of the vote. Opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez had between 26.6% and 28.6% of the vote and Jorge Álvarez Máynez between 9.9% and 10.8% of the vote. Sheinbaum's Morena party was also awarded a majority in each houses of Congress.

The Climate researcher and former mayor of Mexico City said her two competitors called her and acknowledged her victory.

According to the preliminary official count, Sheinbaum is 28 points ahead of Gálvez, with nearly 50% of polling stations reporting their results.

The proven fact that the 2 leading candidates were women left little doubt that Mexico would make history on Sunday. Sheinbaum will even be the primary person from a Jewish background to guide the predominantly Catholic country.

She will begin her six-year term on October 1. The Mexican structure doesn’t provide for re-election.

The Left has said that they believes that the federal government has a crucial role to play in tackling economic inequality and providing a stable social safety net, just like that of their political mentor, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Sheinbaum's victory suggests that the political movement created by López Obrador will continue to exist beyond his presidency.

His designated successor, 61-year-old Sheinbaum, led the campaign from start to complete despite a vigorous challenge from Gálvez, the primary time in Mexico that the 2 major opponents were women.

“Of course, I congratulate Claudia Sheinbaum with all due respect, who ultimately emerged as the winner by a wide margin,” said López Obrador shortly after the election authorities' announcement. “She will be Mexico's first female president in 200 years.”

If this lead holds, it could come near his landslide victory of 2018. López Obrador won the presidency after two unsuccessful attempts with 53.2 percent of the vote in a three-way race through which the National Action Party won 22.3 percent and the Institutional Revolution Party 16.5 percent.

Still, Sheinbaum is unlikely to benefit from the unconditional devotion that López Obrador has experienced.

In the Zócalo, Mexico City's colonial-era major square, Sheinbaum's victory didn’t draw the sort of cheering crowds that greeted López Obrador's victory in 2018. Those in attendance, while enthusiastic, were relatively few in number.

“I promise I won’t disappoint you,” Sheinbaum said as she arrived on the square.

Sara Ríos, 76, a professor emeritus of literature on the National Autonomous University of Mexico, cheered when she heard that Gálvez had conceded defeat.

“We will only move forward if we work together,” Ríos said. “She will work to bring peace to the country and she will make progress, but it is a slow process.”

Fernando Fernández, a 28-year-old chef, acknowledged the challenges ahead as he waited on the pitch for the outcomes.

“You vote for Claudia out of conviction, for AMLO,” said Fernández, referring to López Obrador's initials. But his biggest hope is that Sheinbaum “can improve what AMLO could not, namely the gasoline prices, crime and drug trafficking that he did not fight, even though he had the power to do so.”

The major opposition candidate, Gálvez, a technology entrepreneur and former senator, had promised to take a more aggressive approach to organized crime.

In her speech on the occasion of her defeat, she said: “I want to emphasize that my recognition (of Sheinbaum's victory) comes with a firm demand for results and solutions to the serious problems facing the country.”

Nearly 100 million people were registered to vote and voter turnout appears to have been around 60%, just like previous elections.

In addition, voters in nine of the country's 32 states elected governors and candidates for each houses of Congress, in addition to 1000’s of mayoral and other local offices. These were the most important elections the country has ever seen and elections marked by violence.

The elections were widely seen as a referendum on Lopez Obrador, a populist who has expanded social programs but largely Failure to curb cartels’ violence in Mexico. His Morena party currently holds 23 of the 32 governorships and has an easy majority of seats in each houses of Congress.

Sheinbaum promised to proceed all of López Obrador's policies, including a universal pension for the elderly and a program to compensate young apprentices.

The ongoing cartel violence and Mexico's mediocre economic performance were the major issues on voters' minds.

Julio García, a Mexico City office employee, said he voted for the opposition within the central district of San Rafael. “They robbed me twice at gunpoint. We have to change direction, change leadership,” said the 34-year-old. “If we continue like this, we will become Venezuela.”

On the outskirts of Mexico City, within the San Andres Totoltepec neighborhood, election officials marched past 34-year-old housewife Stephania Navarrete, who watched as dozens of cameramen and election officials gathered where leading candidate Claudia Sheinbaum was scheduled to solid her vote.

Navarrete said she plans to vote for Sheinbaum, despite her own doubts about López Obrador and his party.

“For me as a Mexican, having a female president will be like the old days when you were limited to certain jobs just because you were a woman. That's no longer the case.”

She said Sheinbaum's mentor's social programs were critical, but added that the worsening of cartel violence lately was her biggest concern on this election.

“That's what they need to focus more on,” she said. “For me, security is the biggest challenge. They said they would reduce crime, but no, the opposite has happened, it's skyrocketed. Of course, I don't blame the president entirely, but in some ways it is his responsibility.”

López Obrador claims he has reduced the historically high murder rate by 20 percent since taking office in December 2018. But that claim is basically based on a questionable interpretation of statistics. The actual murder rate appears to have fallen by only about 4 percent in six years.

Just because the upcoming rematch between US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in November underscored the deep divisions within the US, Sunday’s election revealed how strongly polarized public opinion lies in Mexico over the direction of the country, including its security strategy and learn how to grow the economy.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — U.N. development expert Garry Conille was named Haiti's recent prime minister Tuesday night, nearly a month after a coalition inside a fractured transitional council tried to decide on another person for the post.

The long-awaited move got here at a time when gangs proceed to terrorize the capital, Port-au-Prince, opening fire in once peaceful neighborhoods and using heavy equipment to destroy several police stations and prisons.

Council member Louis Gérald Gilles told the Associated Press that six of seven council members eligible to vote voted for Conille on Tuesday. He said one member, Laurent St. Cyr, had not been in Haiti and due to this fact didn’t vote.

Conille has been UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean since January 2023 and previously served as Haiti's Prime Minister from October 2011 to May 2012 under then-President Michel Martelly. He replaces Michel Patrick Boisvert, who was appointed interim Prime Minister after Ariel Henry resigned by letter in late April.

Henry was on an official trip to Kenya when, on February 29, a coalition of powerful gangs launched coordinated attacks, taking control of police stations, shooting at Haiti's predominant international airport and storming the country's two largest prisons, freeing greater than 4,000 inmates.

The attacks left Henry locked overseas and the airport within the capital, Port-au-Prince, remained closed for nearly three months.

Gang violence continues to rise in parts of the Haitian capital and beyond as Conille takes over the federal government of the crisis-ridden Caribbean nation and awaits the deployment of a UN-backed police force from Kenya and other countries.

Conille studied medicine and public health and was involved in developing health care in impoverished communities in Haiti, where he coordinated reconstruction efforts following the devastating earthquake in 2010.

He worked for several years on the United Nations before Martelly appointed him prime minister in 2011. Conille resigned lower than a 12 months later after clashes with the president and his cabinet over an investigation into government officials with dual citizenship, which the Haitian structure doesn’t allow.

Conille faces a difficult task: to contain rampant gang violence while lifting Haiti out of deep poverty, where inflation has reached a record 29%, in line with the most recent available data. In recent years, gangs that control no less than 80% of Port-au-Prince have displaced greater than 360,000 people from their homes. They proceed to regulate key routes from the capital to Haiti's northern and southern regions, often crippling the transport of essential goods.

Conille's appointment as prime minister got here just weeks after former Haitian sports minister Fritz Bélizaire was nominated for the post in late April by a four-member coalition inside the nine-member transitional council. The surprise announcement caused outrage amongst many. Critics said the due process prescribed by the council was not followed. As a result, a brand new process to decide on the prime minister was launched, with dozens of proposals for the post being submitted.

The lengthy process has been criticized from many sides, including by the Haitian civil society group Montana Accord, which has a representative on the Council.

In an announcement on Tuesday, the group accused the council of failing to take “consistent action” since its creation, as “people's suffering continues to worsen as gangs gain control of more and more areas and commit more crimes.”

In addition to electing a brand new prime minister, the nine-member council, seven of whom have voting rights, must also appoint a provisional electoral commission, a prerequisite before elections may be held. The council's non-renewable mandate expires on February 7, 2026, the day a brand new president is because of be sworn in.

In addition to electing a brand new prime minister, the council can also be chargeable for choosing a brand new cabinet and holding parliamentary elections by the top of next 12 months.

The councillors are Emmanuel Vertilaire for Petit Desalin, a celebration led by former senator and presidential candidate Jean-Charles Moïse; Smith Augustin for EDE/RED, a celebration led by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph; Fritz Alphonse Jean of the Montana Accord; Leslie Voltaire for Fanmi Lavalas, the party of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide; Louis Gérald Gilles for the December 21 coalition, which supports former Prime Minister Ariel Henry; Edgard Leblanc Fils for the January 30 collective, which represents parties similar to that of former President Michel Martelly; and Laurent Saint-Cyr for the private sector.