Claudia Sheinbaum was elected Mexico’s first woman president by a landslide Sunday, preliminary official results showed, making history in a country plagued by rampant criminal and gender-based violence.
In her first remarks after being confirmed as the winner, Sheinbaum vowed that she would not let Mexico down,
“I won’t fail you,” she said.
The 61-year-old former Mexico City mayor, a scientist by training, won around 58-60 percent of votes, the National Electoral Institute announced after a quick count.
That was more than 30 percentage points ahead of her main opposition rival Xochitl Galvez, and some 50 percentage points ahead of the only man running, long-shot centrist Jorge Alvarez Maynez.
Voters had flocked to polling stations across the Latin American nation, despite sporadic violence in areas terrorized by ultra-violent drug cartels.
Thousands of troops were deployed to protect voters, following a particularly bloody electoral process that has seen more than two dozen aspiring local politicians murdered.
Earlier, Sheinbaum hailed what she called a “historic” election day.
After casting her ballot, the presidential front-runner revealed she had not voted for herself but for a 93-year-old veteran leftist, Ifigenia Martinez, in recognition of her struggle.
“Long live democracy!” Sheinbaum declared.
