Mexico’s 2024 Election; First Female President?

Mexico is in the early stages of what could be a transformational political event for the country. In the approaching 2024 presidential election, the two leading candidates are Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez. In a political landscape long dominated by men, if elected, a woman president would signal a crucial political shift in the country. Recent Mexican history has been challenging, with the country impacted by violence and crime often as a result of drugs flowing into the United States. As the country grapples with this reality, it is unsurprising that the Mexican people are searching and turning to a new perspective.

These two women candidates bring that fresh point of view. Both of these candidates are incredibly well prepared: Xóchitl Gálvez is an engineer who worked her way up from poverty, and Claudia Sheinbaum was the mayor of Mexico City and currently works alongside the president of Mexico. With the Mexican population being around 134 million people, of which slightly over 50% are women, it is time for women to be represented and heard. If one of these two women were to win the elections, it would be a historic moment for Mexico, and one that the United States has yet to achieve.

A country’s success is determined by its ability to engage and capitalize on its entire population. Latin America has historically underappreciated and limited the way that women can contribute. Fifty years ago, it would have been inconceivable to have a woman occupying the highest political office in Mexico. However, the election reflects a slow but important trend in the region.

FromArgentina, with Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, to Brazil with Dilma Vana Roussef, and to Chile with Michelle Bachelet, these elections represent the evolution of established social norms allowing women to come to the forefront. This evolution is more than overdue in Mexico, where (as in other countries) women continue to confront real and difficult challenges. Femicides are endemic in Mexico, and the election of a woman president may bring focus to this very issue. Moreover, as in so many countries, women suffer from a pay gap relative to work done by men. A hope is that Sheinbaum and Gálvez will make these and other challenges important priorities in their government and influence not just Mexico, but the entire Americas region.

The symbolic impact of a Mexican woman president cannot be underestimated. One needs to look no further than the United States and the impact its first black president had on its nation. Barack Obama’s legacy continues to make possible the election of individuals who identify beyond white and male.

Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world and its cultural influence extends far beyondits border, including to the United States. Electing a woman president may help in achieving a similar goal here. With over 37 million Americans of Mexican heritage living in the United States, it is not unreasonable to assume that what they see in Mexico may influence their thoughts, as well as those of others in the United States.

Mexico’s path to a woman president and to greater equality between genders is a long one and can be seen in the literature of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a Mexican nun considered one of America’s first feminists dating to the 17th century. Hopefully, the path forward to gender equality and impact on women's issues will take less time, if either of the women are elected.

Marina Sabater