The Memo: Mexico puts first female president in power after violence mars election campaign

Mexico has long enjoyed gender parity when it comes to the makeup of its national parliament, which is in no small part thanks to a gender quota law installed in the Latin American nation back in 2002. Whilst the move facilitated a rapid rise in women’s political participation, the law prohibited political parties from offering a selection of electoral candidates where more than 70% were of the same gender. In other words, at least 30% of candidates on the ballot paper had to be female. We’ve seen a number of countries worldwide implementing quotas to varying degrees, though no such law exists in the UK. Interestingly, the Welsh Senedd was on the brink of passing a 50% female quota rule for Welsh government elections in 2026, but it fell through due to conflicts with Westminster. 

Proponents therefore suggest that a high proportion of female legislators in Mexico – amongst the highest of any country in the world in fact – has naturally led to the election of Claudia Sheinbaum, a former academic who stormed to victory after claiming over 60% of all votes cast. The leading opposition candidate – Xóchitl Gálvez – was also female, finishing second and thus ousting Andrés Manuel López Obrador from the top job. But whilst the election at the beginning of June was characterised by a celebratory mood on the gender front, this year’s election also represented the most violent campaign in the country’s complex criminal history.  

With gender-based violence prominent, a staggering 38 electoral candidates had been assassinated in the build-up. In what has been described as a significant victory for the cartels, Sheinbaum has vowed to put an end to the nation’s deeply ingrained culture of violent crime. While this particular election was marred by gun violence, the brute statistic remains that around 10 women and girls are murdered every day in Mexico, proving that the issue is far from merely reserved for political hopefuls. According to Sheinbaum, laws surrounding heightened support of higher educative institutions, more intense global research, and heavily funded social welfare programmes will help the country grapple with its systemic issues. Commentators argue that the election simply highlights the one step forward, two steps back energy of Mexican politics: pioneers in female representation and gender law, yet also a world leader in socio-political violence.