Mexico Poised to Elect Its First Female President in Sunday’s Historic Election

WASHINGTON (May 30, 2024) – Mexicans will head to the polls on Sunday in what is expected to be an historic election that will give the nation its first female president. Both top candidates for president are women, with the former mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, the clear front runner in the polls heading into the weekend. According to the Associated Press, this is also Mexico’s largest election in its history, with more than 20,000 congressional and local positions up for the taking. 

Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary on the upcoming election in Mexico. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected]. 

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Omar García-Ponce, an assistant professor of political science and international affairs, writes and teaches on the causes and consequences of various forms of intrastate organized violence that are prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, ranging from local criminal gangs to armed rebellions and transnational organized crime groups. His regional expertise is in Latin America and he also teaches courses on US-Mexico relations and Latin American politics. His expertise within Mexico includes crime and violence, electoral integrity, and corruption, and he can also discuss how the election might impact immigration at the US-Mexico border.

Gema Kloppe-Santamaría is an assistant professor of Latin American history and international affairs. Her work centers on questions of violence, crime, religion, and gender in twentieth and twentieth-first century Latin America, with a particular focus on Mexico and Central America. She recently spoke with CNN about the paradox of Mexico electing its first female president at a time of ongoing gender-based violence in the country.

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