Mexico will elect its first female president

By Sarah Birke

Mexico’s elections on June 2nd 2024 will go down in history. Never before have there been so many voters on the electoral roll or so many posts up for grabs. Mexicans will elect a new president and all 628 members of the two chambers of congress, as well as nine state governors, multiple local legislatures and other local positions—around 20,000 roles. And it is almost certain that the top job will go to a woman for the first time: both the ruling Morena party and the main opposition coalition are fielding female presidential candidates.

Despite the democratic significance of these elections, they are taking place under difficult conditions. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s divisive rhetoric and erosion of democratic norms have taken their toll. He has sought to weaken the authority of the Instituto Nacional Electoral, the electoral body. Though his policies have reduced poverty, the picture is nuanced. Social handouts have often been used to secure votes and the number of people with access to health-care services has declined on his watch. Reported murders, although still shockingly high at around 30,000 a year, have fallen slightly, but disappearances (mainly murders without a body) have risen significantly to around 9,500 a year.