Why does this election matter?
Mexico’s vote on June 2 will be a landmark election in several ways.
It will be the country’s largest election in terms of voters and seats. Nearly 99 million people are expected to cast a ballot for more than 20,000 local, state and congressional posts as well as for the presidency.
And for the first time in the country’s history, Mexico will elect a female president, as the top two candidates running for the office are women.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador cannot run again under the constitution, and he has strongly backed his protégée and fellow Morena party member, Claudia Sheinbaum, who pledges to continue the current leader’s agenda. Her primary opponent is Xóchitl Gálvez, a strong critic of the López Obrador administration who vows to return checks and balances to government.
The winner will be responsible for nominating a new Supreme Court judge. If Ms. Sheinbaum is elected, she is expected to nominate an ally of her Morena party, which could shift the court’s balance at a time when it has stood as a counterweight to the López Obrador administration.
Who are the candidates?
The top two candidates are Ms. Sheinbaum, a scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, and Ms. Gálvez, a former senator and outspoken tech entrepreneur who has often adhered to progressive politics.