Mexico election: what you need to know about a historic presidential race

On June 2, Mexicans will vote to choose their next president in a historic race that could see a woman ascend to the top job for the first time.

In addition to the presidency, there are more than 20,000 vacancies and approximately 70,000 candidates vying for these positions, including 128 Senate seats and 500 vice presidential seats; Mexico City Hall; and the governor’s offices of Chiapas, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, Puebla, Tabasco, Veracruz and Yucatán.

Here’s who’s running for president:

Sheinbaum, 61, is a former Mexico City mayor and climate scientist. A longtime political ally of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, she served as Mexico City’s environment secretary from 2000 to 2006, when he was mayor.

If she wins, Sheinbaum would not only be Mexico’s first female president, but also the first president of Jewish descent, although she rarely speaks publicly about her personal background and has governed as a left-wing secularist.

His close alignment with López Obrador has been both a blessing and a curse politically. Sheinbaum said she is “not a faithful copy” of López Obrador – but she is also not shy about touting the principles they share, even repeating his slogans on the campaign trail.

(López Obrador has repeatedly dismissed rumors that he favored a candidate he could influence, telling the press in February that he would “completely retire” after his term.)

Among his policies, Sheinbaum promised:

• Maintaining López Obrador’s pension for all elderly people
• Scholarships for more than 12 million students
• Free fertilizers for small farm owners
• Regarding security, she proposed consolidating the National Guard, reforming the judicial system, strengthening intelligence, research and coordination with law enforcement authorities.

Backed by an opposition coalition made up of Mexico’s PRI, PAN and PRD parties, Xóchitl Gálvez is a former senator and former top indigenous affairs official under former President Vicente Fox.

Daughter of an Indigenous father and a Métis mother, this 61-year-old woman was a businesswoman before entering politics.

For a newcomer, Galvez’s entry into the presidential race has gained impressive momentum, experts say.

Its proposals include:

• Maintaining López Obrador’s pension for all elderly people
• A “universal welfare system” consisting of social programs for the middle and lower classes
• A security approach that would strengthen local and state police
• Galvez has also suggested that oil-rich Mexico should invest more in renewable energy, saying earlier this year: “We haven’t done it because we’re idiots.” »

Jorge Álvarez Máynez, a latecomer to the race, attracted international attention earlier this month when a stage collapsed during his campaign event in San Pedro Garza García, in the northeast of the country , killing nine people and injuring at least 121.

The 38-year-old pledged to:

• Eliminate the crime of simple drug possession to stop criminalizing poverty and move from prohibitionism to drug regulation.
• End Mexico’s long-standing militarization and instead focus on training and strengthening the police.
• He also proposed progressive economic reform including a universal pension system, guaranteed labor and income rights, and progressive tax reform.
• Máynez also called for transforming the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and Pemex into renewable and clean energy companies, and closing some refineries.

Key issues: Security and migration

Security and immigration are major issues for all Mexican presidential candidates.

The election campaign was marred by dozens of assassination attempts and other political violence. It is now feared that the attacks have already cooled the countryside; experts and political parties say some candidates have abandoned their candidacy, fearing for their lives.

But the electoral violence is only part of Mexico’s broader security crisis, with extremely high crime and homicide rates. In the first four and a half years of López Obrador’s government, 160,594 homicides were recorded – a figure surpassing that of the previous government.

However, a report from the Mexican Peace Index (MPI), prepared by the Institute for Economy and Peace (IEP), provides some reasons for optimism, reporting improvements in five key indicators: homicides, violent crimes, fear of violence, crimes. committed with firearms and violent crimes. Homicides and gun crimes peaked in 2019, according to the May 2024 report, and have since improved.

Meanwhile, pressure is increasing on Mexico’s southern and northern borders.

In 2023, the National Migration Institute (INM) recorded a 77% increase in migrant arrivals compared to 2022. And as it grapples with the influx of migrants and asylum seekers entering and crossing its own territory, Mexico will also have to deal with foreign policies. on migration.

As an example, Myriam Guadalupe Castro Yáñez, an academic at the National School of Social Work at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), cites a recent Texas state law that has already caused waves in Mexico .

In December, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill that would allow state officials to detain and deport people suspected of entering the United States illegally. The law is currently blocked in a US federal court, but López Obrador’s government has warned that it will not accept people deported by Texas and will only discuss immigration issues with Washington.

Both Sheinbaum and Gálvez have stated their support for this position.

Reporting contributed by Rafael Romo and David Shortell of CNN.