Mexico elects Claudia Sheinbaum as president

Claudia Steinbaum speaks to supporters after winning Mexican presidential race

Sheinbaum's sole six-year term will start Oct. 1

(Image credit: Gerardo Luna / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

Mexicans on Sunday elected Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist, former Mexico City mayor and protégé of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, as president. Sheinbaum, 61, will be the first woman to lead Mexico and the country's first Jewish president.

Mexico's National Electoral Institute projected that Sheinbaum will win between 58% and 61% of the vote, while main challenger Xóchitl Gálvez will take 27% to 29% and the only male contender, Jorge Álvarez Máynez, will get 10% to 11%. Gálvez conceded defeat, saying the results "aren't in my favor."

Who said what

"We women have landed in the presidency," Sheinbaum said in an early Monday victory speech. "We are going to govern for everyone," and preserve Lopéz Obrador's "legacy" by continuing his popular policies.

Despite Sheinbaum's assertion that her victory shows "Mexico is a democratic country with peaceful elections," cartel violence "continues to torment the country," fueling "one of the deadliest campaign cycles in recent Mexican history," The New York Times said. At least 36 local candidates were killed since last summer.

What next?

Sheinbaum's sole six-year term will start Oct. 1. Her leftist Moreno party is projected to win majorities in both chambers of Congress, allowing Sheinbaum to "push through her agenda with ease," The Associated Press said. But if turnout at her victory party was a sign, she is "unlikely to enjoy the kind of unquestioning devotion that López Obrador has enjoyed."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.