Claudia Sheinbaum Makes History as First Woman Elected President of Mexico

On Sunday, Claudia Sheinbaum made history by becoming Mexico's first elected female president.

Based on a statistical sample utilized for the rapid count, Sheinbaum received between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote. The National Electoral Institute of Mexico's Guadalupe Taddei Zavala made the announcement early on Monday. Taddei Zavala stated that the tally is 95% reliable.

Sheinbaum addressed supporters, saying, "For the first time in 200 years of our republic, I will become the first woman president ... but as I've said in other occasions, I don’t make it alone. We’ve all made it, with our heroines who gave us our homeland, with our mothers, our daughters and our granddaughters.”

Outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador celebrated Sheinbaum's historic victory in a video released early Monday. "I congratulate Claudia Sheinbaum, who emerged victorious by a wide margin. She will be the first female president of Mexico in 200 years," he said.

However, Sheinbaum will not take office for another four months. In the meantime, López Obrador is determined to push through his highly controversial constitutional changes, which opponents fear could significantly weaken Mexico’s democracy, before his term ends on September 30.

Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, has pledged to continue López Obrador's policies. In her victory speech on Monday, she gave little indication of how she plans to distinguish her presidency.