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MEXICO CITY.- These are some of the keys to the general elections this Sunday in Mexicothe most populous Spanish-speaking country.
The vote will be a historic election in several ways. They will be the largest elections in the country in terms of voters and seats. Nearly 99 million people are expected to vote for more than 20,000 local, state and congressional offices, as well as the presidency.
And for the first time in the country’s history, Mexico will elect a woman president, since the two main candidates for the position are women.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador cannot run again according to the Constitution and firmly supported his protégé and colleague from the Morena party, Claudia Sheinbaum, who is committed to continuing the current leader’s agenda. His main opponent is Xochitl Galveza strong criticism of the López Obrador administration that promises to return checks and balances to the government.
Whoever wins the election will be responsible for nominating a new Supreme Court justice. If Sheinbaum were elected, she is expected to nominate an ally of her Morena party, which could change the balance of the Court at a time when she has acted as a counterweight to the López Obrador administration.
The two leading candidates are Sheinbaum, a scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, and Gálvez, a former senator and outspoken tech entrepreneur who has often embraced progressive policies.
Several factors favor Sheinbaum and his Morena party; Above all, perhaps, there is López Obrador’s high approval rating. Sheinbaum has pledged to continue López Obrador’s agenda, largely through the consolidation of some of its main infrastructure projects, the implementation of its austerity measures and the preservation of its social welfare programs.
Millions of Mexicans benefited from direct cash transfers and fuel and electricity subsidies during López Obrador’s administration. But he also sought to undermine electoral and policing institutions and gave the military an outsized role in politics and the economy.
On the contrary, Gálvez promised a coalition government with a plurality of voices that defends democratic checks and balances. Furthermore, it proposes gradually demilitarize the country, withdraw the armed forces from their civilian functions and reorient them to fight organized crimereflecting his argument that the government did not do enough to quell the high levels of cartel violence plaguing Mexico.
However, many voters see the parties representing Gálvez as responsible for the legacy of corruption that Mexico has struggled to get rid of.
Jorge Alvarez Maynez He will also compete for the Citizen Movement party. Opinion polls do not favor him compared to his competitors, but It tries to attract young voters and people who feel frustrated by both the Morena party and the opposition.
Voters see growing cartel violence as a major electoral issue. With some exceptions, the current government struggles to control the murders, disappearances and acts of extortion that plague the country.
But violence has not been spared from this year’s elections. A total of 39 mayoral hopefuls and local officials have been murderedand more are attacked every month in what, according to analysts, is an electoral season even bloodier than that of 2018.
The corruption is another major issue for voters. For years, corruption levels in Mexico remained stable, despite the current administration’s promise to end the problem. Public institutions continue to function without transparency. Federal and state governments reduced the autonomy of key anti-corruption agencies and restricted their budgets and staff.
There is also a migration crisis. Even as Mexico increased surveillance and detained more migrants than in at least two decades, large numbers of people continue to pass through its southern border to try to reach the United States.
So far, Sheinbaum has dominated the presidential race, with a lead of about 10 points over Gálvez, according to the latest polls.
Regarding the legislative elections, although some opinion polls give an advantage to the ruling Morena party in Congress, where it already has a majority, It is not clear whether it will win two-thirds of the seats. Without this supermajority, a Morena party under Sheinbaum would have to negotiate with the opposition to pass laws.
The polling stations close at 6 p.m. (local time, 21 p.m. in Argentina). The same night this Sunday, the preliminary results will be delivered in real time by the National Electoral Institute. The vote count that will determine the final count will take place from June 5 to 8.
By Emiliano Rodríguez Mega
The New York Times
The New York Times
