Mexicans vote in historic election expected to choose first woman president

Tara John and Michelle Velez, CNN

(CNN) — Mexicans headed to nan polls connected Sunday to ballot successful a historical predetermination expected to return nan country’s first female president.

The 2 starring statesmanlike candidates are women: Claudia Sheinbaum from nan leftist Morena statement and Xochitl Gálvez, from nan blimpish PAN party, who is representing a conjugation of guidance parties.

The 3rd campaigner is Jorge Álvarez Máynez, nan youngest successful nan race, who is representing nan center-left Citizens’ Movement.

Sunday’s canvass is nan largest predetermination successful nan country’s history. More than 98 cardinal voters are registered to formed a ballot in Mexico, and 1.4 cardinal Mexicans are eligible to ballot abroad. More than 20,000 positions are group to beryllium filled pinch an estimated 70,000 candidates vying to go senators, mayors and governors.

Outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is Sheinbaum’s mentor, greeted supporters arsenic he voted. As Sheinbaum made her measurement to formed her ballot, she called for Mexicans to vote, telling reporters: “This is simply a historical day, I americium emotion very happy.”

Gálvez told reporters connected Sunday that she was not tense and was happy astir nan ample elector turnout. She added that she was expecting it to beryllium a agelong time and a very adjacent call.

Polls opened astatine 8 a.m. section clip and will adjacent astatine 6 p.m., according to Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE).

However, connected Sunday, immoderate voting stations successful parts of nan state opened pinch delays. Long lines were seen successful Mexico City, Yucatán, Tuxtla, Cuauhtémoc, and voting centers abroad.

One exasperated female successful Mexico City, who had been waiting for 40 minutes for her polling position to open, said she would not beryllium capable to ballot earlier nan polls closed astatine 6 p.m. arsenic she had to spell to work. “If they are giving a clip frame, they should respect that,” she told CNN.

In Madrid, Spain, expatriate Mexicans told CNN they waited much than 8 hours to formed their ballots. One Mexican elector said she had been successful statement for 11 hours. Authorities are telling them INE is to blame. Voter Lucia Rodriguez said, “I don’t deliberation they (the Mexican Embassy) person nan resources to clasp this predetermination here.”

Polls were meant to unfastened astatine 8 a.m. section clip successful Madrid, but INE posted connected societal media connected Sunday day saying voters waiting successful statement astatine embassies successful Madrid and Paris could now formed their ballots. They added that nan polls will adjacent erstwhile 1,500 votes person been formed aliases everyone who registered votes. CNN has contacted the Mexican Embassy successful Madrid for comment.

Security concerns connected nan ballot

Whoever is elected will look respective challenges, including security, organized crime, energy, immigration, and strengthening nan US-Mexico relationship.

Outside polling stations, voters told CNN that nationalist information was 1 of their main concerns. Violence has loomed ample successful this election, nan bloodiest successful Mexico’s history. Dozens of governmental candidates and applicants person been killed by gangs trying to influence those coming into power.

A infinitesimal of soundlessness was held connected Sunday by nan advisers of nan INE successful representation of nan group who person been murdered during this electoral period.

And while the execution complaint fell successful Mexico between 2019 and 2022, successful absolute numbers nan state is still reeling from historically precocious levels of homicides of astir 30,000 each year, experts say.

Both Sheinbaum and Gálvez person mostly remained coy astir their proposals regarding security. Neither has repudiated a astir two-decades-long attack of relying connected nan equipped forces to tackle organized crime.

The cardinal situation for nan adjacent president will be convincing voters that she tin extremity nan civilization of impunity successful Mexico, where around 95% of each crimes nationwide went unsolved in 2022, according to nan deliberation tank Mexico Evalua.

US officials are intimately monitoring nan statesmanlike predetermination arsenic it comes astatine a captious clip for nan Biden administration. A record number of migrants astatine nan US-Mexico separator has been seized upon by Republicans who declare it arsenic impervious of nan Biden administration’s impotence, pushing migration power to a apical predetermination issue.

In caller months, nan US has relied heavy connected Mexico to measurement up migration enforcement and thief stem nan travel of migration to nan US’ confederate border. The predetermination successful Mexico has raised uncertainty successful nan minds of immoderate Biden officials astir what, if anything, will alteration pinch a cardinal partner erstwhile it comes to separator cooperation.

“Whether we’re talking astir elections successful Mexico aliases present successful nan US, it ever provokes a level of uncertainty pinch everyone, generally, but particularly successful nan migrant population,” a Homeland Security charismatic antecedently told CNN.

CNN’s Gustavo Valdés, Karol Suarez, Priscilla Alvarez and Esha Mitra contributed to this report.

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People hold to ballot successful San Bartolome Quialana, Mexico, connected June 2. | Jorge Luis Plata, Reuters via CNN Newsource