First woman elected to lead Mexico faces pressing gender-related issues

MEXICO CITY (AP):

Claudia Sheinbaum’s name will go down in Mexican history.

The governing party candidate won Mexico’s presidential election on Sunday, a turning point in a mostly conservative nation that for more than two centuries has been exclusively ruled by men.

Elsewhere in Latin America, women have led countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Guyana, Nicaragua, Honduras, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, Haiti and Costa Rica.

Mexican women won the right to vote in 1953. No law prevented female candidates from holding office, but sexism and ‘macho’ culture continue to permeate the country of 129 million people.

Prior to the current presidential race, during which Sheinbaum maintained a comfortable lead against opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez, only two women had officially sought Mexico’s presidency. Both failed.

In her bid to replace outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum struggled to construct an image of her own, leaving many wondering whether she can escape the shadow of her mentor.

Women currently lead some key Mexican institutions, such as the Senate, the Supreme Court and the National Electoral Institute. Mexico ranks third among Latin American nations with the most women in the national Cabinet – 44 per cent – and has 10 female governors among its 32 states.

In some Indigenous villages, though, men still hold the power.

Among the issues that Mexican women face are femicide, or women killed because of their gender, a gender employment gap and inadequate policies guaranteeing sexual and reproductive rights. Sheinbaum, 61, will need to address these after she takes office on October 1.