Mexico elects first female president with Claudia Sheinbaum as projected winner

Claudia Sheinbaum has made history as the first woman elected president of Mexico, according to projections from the nation's official quick count.

Sheinbaum obtained between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote, according to a statistical sample used to conduct the quick count. It was announced early Monday morning by Guadalupe Taddei Zavala of Mexico's National Electoral Institute. Taddei Zavala said 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 did not get here alone," she said.

Sheinbaum said would work to build a “diverse and democratic” Mexico.

The former mayor of Mexico City will serve one six-year term starting on Oct. 1.

Sheinbaum, 61, is a physicist and climate scientist and will be Mexico’s first president of Jewish heritage.

Sheinbaum, a member of the governing Morena party, will have an important role in resolving issues that are a priority to the U.S. such as immigration and foreign affairs, as well as determining the future of the trade deal that has made Mexico the United States’ largest trade partner.

Mexico’s National Electoral Institute projected a voter turnout of about 60%, according to the quick count, said Taddei Zavala.

Sheinbaum is largely expected to follow in the footsteps of her mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The leftist Morena party López Obrador founded has come to dominate Mexican politics since 2018, when he was elected by a landslide.