Hope, scepticism as Mexico prepares for potential first female president

Record ID: 1814229

  • Title: Hope, scepticism as Mexico prepares for potential first female president
  • Date: 21st May 2024
  • Summary: ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES (MAY 20, 2024) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) PENTAGON PRESS CONFERENCE JOURNALIST ASKING ABOUT HELICOPTER CRASH THAT KILLED IRANIAN PRESIDENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY, LLOYD AUSTIN, SAYING: "Regarding the death of Iran's president, in the very unfortunate helicopter crash. We continue to monitor the situation, but we don't have
  • Embargoed: 4th June 2024 17:34
  • Keywords: Mexico election politics president voting women
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, MEXICO
  • City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: South America / Central America,North America,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA005425121052024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: For the first time in its history, Mexico is poised to be governed by a woman, with two female candidates leading in the polls to win the June 2 election, raising hope and skepticism among Mexicans.
    Leading the race is the heavy favourite Claudia Sheinbaum, 61, candidate of the ruling MORENA party, and Xochitl Galvez, 61, candidate of the opposition coalition.
    Feminist groups and human rights activists are sceptical. They argue that simply having a woman at the head of government does not guarantee substantial changes in a country struggling with widespread gender-based violence.
    Sara Lovera, a journalist specialising in women's issues and a feminist activist, warns that the arrival of a woman in power does not mean the reversal of all the ills afflicting Mexican women.
    Although she considers the arrival of a woman in office a milestone, Lovera says there is still much to be done to end the inequality between men and women in Mexico.
    An average of 10 women are killed every day in Mexico, according to UN Women.
    In Jalisco, in western Mexico, Yolanda Gonzalez, who is searching for her daughter, grandson, and son-in-law who have been missing since 2019, the future president represents the hope of locating her loved ones. Gonzalez thinks a female president could be more sensitive to her cause.
    Amnesty International estimates that more than 114,000 people have disappeared or gone missing in Mexico between 1962 and 2023.
    Disappearances are largely a result of drug cartel violence. Many are murdered and buried in clandestine — sometimes mass — graves. However, authorities have little clues as to where those burial sites are and lack the resources to keep searching.
    Galvez and Sheinbaum's supporters are excited about the arrival of a female president. They see it as a gesture that could improve and strengthen women's rights in the country.
    As the elections draw nearer, expectations are growing for a possible change in leadership and whether this will translate into a change in women's rights and security in Mexico.
    (Production: Alberto Fajardo, Diego Delgado, Jose Cortez, Rodolfo Pena Rona)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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