Who Won the 2024 Presidential Elections in Mexico?
In a historic turn of events, Claudia Sheinbaum emerged victorious in the 2024 presidential elections in Mexico, becoming the first woman to hold the highest office in the country. The outcome, which had been predicted by polls, saw the candidate from the coalition «Let’s Keep Making History,» consisting of Morena, the Labor Party (PT), and the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM), defeating her opponents Xóchitl Gálvez and Jorge Álvarez Máynez.
According to the National Electoral Institute (INE), the quick count was conducted using a sample of 5651 polling stations, representing 74.3%, with a 95% confidence level. As anticipated by the organization, three mechanisms were utilized to determine the election results: the Preliminary Electoral Results Program (PREP), the quick count, and the district computations. In line with the General Law of Electoral Institutions and Procedures, these processes aim to establish a robust vote-counting methodology.
The elections on Sunday, June 2, marked the largest in Mexico’s history in terms of the number of positions voted on, with over 20,000 at the national and local levels. Polls opened at 8 am and closed at 6 pm, with some exceptions. Following the computations, scheduled from June 5 to 8, the INE, responsible for organizing federal activities, will issue an official certificate to the new president.
In collaboration with local public bodies, the INE oversaw the election activities for governors, Mexico City’s government head, local congresses, municipalities, municipal boards, and boroughs. A total of 20,708 positions were filled, including 500 seats for federal deputies and 28 for senators.
At the local level, 16 boroughs in Mexico City were renewed, along with 1098 local deputy positions, 1802 municipal presidencies, 1975 syndicatures, 204 council members, 14,560 council seats, 22 municipal board presidencies, 88 municipal board council members, 22 municipal board syndicatures, and 299 community presidencies.
Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, an alumna of the Faculty of Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), with a degree in Physics, furthered her studies with a master’s in Electrical Engineering at the university. She made history as the first woman to enroll in the Electrical Engineering doctoral program in 1994, conducting research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.
In addition to her political career, Sheinbaum has authored over 100 specialized articles and two books on energy, the environment, and sustainable development. Her academic affiliations include Stanford, the University of California, and El Colegio de México, where she focused on climate change, urban planning, and greenhouse gases.
Having entered public service in 2000 as part of the Environmental Secretariat, appointed by the then-elect Mayor of the Federal District (now Mexico City), Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum later served as a delegate in Tlalpan, a borough of the capital. By 2018, she made history as the first female head of Mexico City’s government.
Traditionally, the winner of the presidential elections assumed office on December 1 and, six years later, transferred power to their successor on the same date. However, a 2014 electoral reform shifted this tradition. As of 2024, the President of Mexico will be inaugurated on October 1, marking the end of López Obrador’s term on September 30, 2024, and Sheinbaum’s assumption of power the following day.