Mexicans vote Sunday in historic elections that weigh gender, democracy and populism, as they chart a path forward for the country shadowed by cartel violence.
With two women leading the contest, Mexico will probably elect its first female president – an important step in a country long marked by its sexist culture. The election is also the most important in the country’s history. According to the National Electoral Institute, more than 20,000 parliamentary and local positions are at stake.
claudia sheinbaumformer mayor of Mexico City, has maintained a comfortable double-digit lead in opinion polls for months. Xóchitl Gálvez, An opposition senator and technology entrepreneur, he represents a coalition of parties that have historically had little to unite them other than their recent opposition to outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Mexico enters sunday election deeply divided: friends and family no longer talk about politics for fear of worsening insurmountable divisions, while drug cartels They have divided the country into a mosaic of warring fiefdoms. The atmosphere is literally heating up with an unusual heat wave, drought, pollution and political violence.
At the moment:
— More populist policies or a tougher fight against cartels? Mexicans weigh the election while they elect a new leader.
– Mexico drug cartels and gangs They appear to be playing a larger role than before in Sunday’s elections.
— Mexicans choose between continuity and change in an election overshadowed by violence.
— Violence clouds the last day of campaign for the Mexican elections.
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Here’s the latest on Mexico’s elections:
MEXICO CITY — Thousands of Mexican stores advertise offers of free products for customers who arrive on Sunday and show ink on their finger, a security measure to prevent someone from voting twice.
The offers are intended to encourage voting.
Some locations of the country’s largest convenience store chain, Oxxo, offer voters a free cup of coffee. The national restaurant chamber said some members will also offer discounts on food and drinks.
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s once autonomous National Human Rights Commission issued an unusual statement criticizing electoral authorities.
The commission, which has largely followed and supported the policies of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, stated Saturday that electoral authorities have not acted strongly enough against “slander,” a term frequently used by López Obrador in reaction to any criticism.
Elections in Mexico are run by the independent National Electoral Institute, and the commission is not supposed to have any role in the process.
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