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An aerial view of a pro-opposition rally at Zocalo Square in Mexico City, Mexico on May 19, 2024.
Mexicans will vote on June 2 to choose their next president, a historic election that could see a woman assume the top office for the first time.
In addition to the presidency, more than 20,000 positions remain to be filled, including 128 senators, 500 members of the House of Representatives, mayor of Mexico City, and governorships of the states of Chiapas, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, Puebla, Tabasco, Veracruz and Yucatán, with an estimated 70,000 candidates vying for those positions.
The candidates for President are:
Sheinbaum, 61, is a former Mexico City mayor and climate scientist and a longtime political ally of current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who served as the city's environment secretary from 2000 to 2006 when López Obrador was mayor.
If she wins, Sheinbaum would become Mexico's first woman president and its first of Jewish descent, although she has rarely spoken publicly about her background and has run her government as a secular leftist.
The close alliance between Mr. Sheinbaum and Mr. Lopez Obrador has been both a political blessing and a curse: Mr. Sheinbaum says he is “not a look-alike” of Mr. Lopez Obrador, but he has not shied away from touting their shared ideals, even echoing Mr. Lopez Obrador's slogans on the campaign trail.
(Lopez Obrador has repeatedly denied rumors that he is backing any influential candidates, telling reporters in February that he would “fully retire” at the end of his term.)
In his policy, Scheinbaum pledged to:
• Continuing President Lopez Obrador's pensions for all seniors
• Provided scholarships to over 12 million students
• Free fertilizer to smallholder farmers
• On security, he proposed strengthening the National Guard, reforming the judicial system, strengthening intelligence and investigations, and coordinating with law enforcement authorities.
Xochitl Galvez, who is supported by Mexico's opposition coalition of the PRI, PAN and PRD parties, is a former senator and former chief of indigenous affairs under former President Vicente Fox.
The 61-year-old, whose father is Indigenous and whose mother is mixed race, was a businesswoman before entering politics.
Despite being a relative newcomer, Galvez's entry into the presidential race has gained impressive momentum, experts say.
Her suggestions include:
• Continuing President Lopez Obrador's pensions for all seniors
• “Universal Social Security” welfare programs for the middle and lower classes.
• A security approach that strengthens local and state police forces
• President Galvez has also suggested that oil-rich Mexico should increase investment in renewable energy, saying earlier this year that “the reason we haven't done it is because we're stupid.”
Jorge Alvarez Mines, a late entrant in the race, attracted international attention earlier this month when a stage collapsed during a campaign event in the northeastern city of San Pedro Garza Garcia, killing nine people and injuring at least 121.
The 38-year-old vowed:
• Eliminate the criminalization of simple drug possession in order to decriminalize poverty and move from drug prohibition to drug control.
• End Mexico's longstanding militarization and focus on training and strengthening the police.
• He also proposes gradual economic reforms including a universal pension system, guaranteed worker rights and income, and progressive tax reform.
• Mines also wants the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and Pemex to transform into renewable, clean energy companies and close some refineries.
Key issues: security and migration
Security and immigration are top priorities for all Mexican presidential candidates.
The pre-election campaign has been marred by dozens of assassination attempts and other political violence, raising concerns the attacks could have a chilling effect on an already crowded election campaign, with experts and parties saying some candidates have withdrawn from running out of fear for their lives.
But the election violence is only part of a broader security crisis in Mexico, where crime and murder rates are sky-high: 160,594 murders were recorded in Lopez Obrador's first four and a half years in power, more than any previous administration had recorded.
However, the Mexican Peace Index (MPI) report, produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), offers reason for optimism, reporting improvements in five key indicators: homicides, violent crimes, fear of violence, firearm crimes, and violent crimes. According to the May 2024 report, homicides and firearm crimes peaked in 2019 and have since improved.
Meanwhile, pressure is growing on Mexico's southern and northern borders.
The National Migration Institute (INM) recorded a 77% increase in migrant arrivals in 2023 compared to 2022. And while dealing with a surge in migrants and asylum seekers entering or passing through its territory, Mexico will also have to address its foreign policy regarding migration.
As an example, Miriam Guadalupe Castro Yáñez, a scholar at the National School of Social Work at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), points to a recent state law in Texas that is already making waves in Mexico.
In December, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill allowing state authorities to detain and deport people suspected of entering the country illegally. The law is currently blocked in U.S. federal court, but Lopez Obrador's administration has warned that it will not accept people deported from Texas and will only discuss immigration issues with Washington.
Both Scheinbaum and Galvez have stated their support for this position.
CNN's Rafael Romo and David Shortell report.
