The presidential election in Mexico, on June 6, 2024, will mark a milestone in the history of that country, since a woman will be elected for the first time in office, between the candidate of the opposition coalition, Xóchitl Gálvez, and the former mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, of the ruling party, Morena, and heir to the so-called Fourth Transformation of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Sheinbaum, 61, is a Mexican politician, scientist, and activist who won the preference poll of the ruling party, which is running for president in alliance with the Mexican Green Ecologist Party (PVEM) and the Labor Party (PT). ).
In all the polls, Sheinbaum defeated Marcelo Ebrard, the country’s former foreign minister, of whom Professor Miguel Tinker Salas, a professor at Pomona College, believes that if he ran as a candidate for another party, he would be “sadly” signing the end of his political career.
The expert on Latin American issues told La Opinión that for years he has insisted on the “tremendous lack of awareness” of the Mexican political parties to understand the importance of their compatriots residing in the United States.
“Through remittances, the Mexican immigrant community has a great impact on the economy of their country of origin, and although they cannot vote, through social networks they directly influence their relatives who live there politically.”
For Juan José Gutiérrez, executive director of the Coalition Full Rights for Immigrants, with Claudia Sheinbaum, “without a doubt, the best candidate won to take charge of the destinies of the nation, as of September 1, 2024.”
Among the reasons, he argues that it is almost unappealable that in 2024 it will be a woman who governs Mexico.
“The candidate of the right [Xóchitl Gálvez] or the one of the 4T [Claudia Sheinbaum] that it represents the progressive sectors of the nation, on both sides of the border, is a great step forward because, according to experts, Mexico is a macho country that would never allow a woman to assume command of the nation; that is exceeded and we will have a hand in hand between the two main political blocks of the Mexican Republic”.
Sheinbaum has been strictly loyal to López Obrador, even falling out with energy investors as the federal government struggled to control rates of violence; In addition, she has been very critical of the media for not being truthful.
He emphasized that Sheinbaum as a former mayor of Mexico City surpassed President AMLO in reducing murders, expanding public transportation and pushing for greener energy policies.
“On June 6, 2024, the Mexican people will decide if it is convenient for us to return to the past with the policy that Xóchitl Gálvez represents, with submissions to the political and economic interests of the United States, as the country has been since Miguel de la Madrid. and that ended with Enrique Peña Nieto, or is decided by this compass of progress and change that began with Andrés Manuel López Obrador and will now continue with Claudia Sheinbaum”, considered Juan José Gutiérrez.
Francisco Moreno, executive director of the Council of Mexican Federations in North America (COFEM), explained that whoever wins the presidency must have a direct relationship with Mexican immigrants abroad to recover what was lost with López Obrador.
“Not just because of what we represent as remittances,” Moreno said. “But what we represent as consumers of Mexican products and millions of tourists who visit our families.”
For the leader, who agrees with the causes of the PAN, it was evident that the candidate Sheinbaum had been appointed a long time ago by President López Obrador and the polls on Wednesday were only a formality.
“It was obvious, because she will follow the policy of the 4T, in the style of AMLO,” he assured.
From Xóchitl Gálvez Ruiz, he analyzed that the engineer, PAN politician and businesswoman, apart from representing a “broad front, is a hope for millions of Mexicans who are somehow dissatisfied with the López Obrador government.”
However, he emphasized the importance of ending political patriarchy in Mexico with one of the two candidates, and therefore asked that all candidates for government positions in Mexico “should have the obligation to have a culture general, speak very good English and have knowledge of world geopolitics”.
Sheinbaum, in her role as defender of the Mexican State, aspires to consolidate public control of natural resources and the strengthening of the social welfare programs undertaken by her mentor AMLO, as well as large emblematic infrastructure projects such as the Mayan Train, the Dos Bocas refinery, the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Felipe Ángeles airport, among many others.
The candidate for Morena is also a strong supporter of the increased use of renewable energy.
At press time, it was still unclear whether Marcelo Ebrard would run for the presidency as an independent or for Movimiento Ciudadano.