Alexander Martinez – Agence France-Presse and Jean Arce – Agence France-Presse Mexico
Published yesterday at 3:39 p.m. Updated yesterday at 7:25 p.m.
- Americas
The “historic” election of Claudia Sheinbaum, first president of Mexico, was welcomed Monday by the partners of the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world undermined by violence, with a new municipal candidate assassinated.
At least 27 candidates in local elections, which were held at the same time as the presidential and legislative elections, were killed during the campaign, according to the Agency's count France-Presse (AFP).
The latest is Yonis Baños, candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI, right) for mayor of Santo Domingo Armenta (south), killed at his home after the polling stations closed on Sunday evening, according to the authorities.
Claudia Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, won a landslide victory with 58% to 60% of the vote, according to partial results from the National Electoral Institute (INE) for this one-round election.
The candidate of the ruling Movement for National Regeneration (Morena) beat former center-right senator Xochitl Galvez, who received between 26 and 28 percent of the vote. Centrist Jorge Alvarez received between 9.9% and 10.8% of the vote, according to the INE.
Ms. Galvez, who admitted her defeat, however announced on Monday her intention to file “appeals” before the electoral authorities to denounce “an unequal competition against the entire state apparatus” which favored “her candidate”.
“We all realized the presence of organized crime, threatening and even murdering dozens of candidates,” Ms. Galvez also denounced on X.
“Historic” victory
From Joe Biden to Vladimir Putin, the world hailed the victory “ historic” of the first woman elected president in the history of Mexico in 200 years, for a six-year term until 2030.
US President Joe Biden , said he looked forward to working with her “in a spirit of partnership and friendship.”
Mexico is the United States' largest trading partner. The two countries maintain an intense and complex bilateral relationship (migration, drug and arms trafficking).
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also congratulated Ms. Sheinbaum: “Our free trade agreement [with the United States and Mexico] is the envy of the world” and “I look forward to strengthening this relationship. »
In Europe, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hoped to “strengthen our bilateral relations under your leadership.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin recalled that “Mexico has traditionally been a friendly partner of Russia in Latin America.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hoped that “Mexico could play a role in the overall effort to restore a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
The French President Emmanuel Macron called the president-elect on Monday to congratulate her and suggest that she “work closely on major global challenges”, namely climate change and women's rights, the Elysée said. In a message published on X after the interview, Mr. Macron said he was “happy” with their first telephone exchange. “We will continue together the historic partnership between Mexico and France,” he added.
In Latin America, Brazilian President Lula hailed the victory “of a progressive woman.”
“I intend to travel to Mexico this year to strengthen our trade relations,” Lula announced, recalling that the two countries were the two largest economies in Latin America.
Markets worried
Ms. Sheinbaum will take office on October 1, taking over from the very popular outgoing president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
“This is truly a historic event,” López Obrador said Monday morning, confirming his withdrawal from political life.
The ruling party, Morena, also won a two-thirds qualified majority in Congress and deputies, pending final results in the Senate.
The Mexican peso lost 4.3% of its value, falling to 17.7 per US dollar on Monday morning, while the stock market fell 6.01% at the close on Monday.< /p>
Markets are worried that Morena (left) “will obtain the qualified majority in Congress, which allows the approval of ongoing constitutional changes,” Víctor Ceja, chief economist at financial company Valmex, told AFP.
The elected candidate should declare “that we will not change the autonomy of the Central Bank”, that there will be “fiscal discipline, and that we will not touch the division of powers”, according to Gabriela Siller, analyst at Banco Base.
Narcoviolence
Granddaughter of Jews who fled Nazism and poverty in Lithuania and Bulgaria, Ms. Sheinbaum will have to take up the challenge of narcoviolence.
The country records an average of more than 30,000 homicides per year, or around 80 per day.
Violence became exponential from December 2006, when former President Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) took office, who launched an offensive against the cartels with the participation of the military.
Since then, Mexico has recorded some 450,000 homicides and 100,000 disappearances.
“We will lead Mexico on the path to peace and security”, declared the president-elect, who also promised to fight violence against women in a country which has an average of ten feminicides per day, according to the UN.