Claudia Sheinbaum, mayor of Mexico City, said that she would resign on Friday, June 16, in order to run for president of Mexico as a candidate for the governing party in 2024. She would want to be the first woman to hold this office in Mexico.
Sheinbaum Is Regarded as One of MORENA's Top Two Picks
In a report by Reuters, the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), led by leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has planned the announcement of its internal selection process winner on September 6. One of the two preferred candidates is Sheinbaum.
Given Lopez Obrador's star power, MORENA has solid odds of winning the presidential election in June 2024.
Since the president of Mexico may only serve one six-year term, he is out of luck if he wants to run again. According to Reuters, Lopez Obrador's closest advisors believe he would want Sheinbaum to take over once he steps down. However, he claims he does not prefer any particular team.
Sheinbaum Aspires to Be Mexico's First Female Leader
Sheinbaum, 60, announced her intention to retire during a news conference on Monday, June 12. According to The Guardian, she emphasized her qualifications as a scientist and environmentalist and promised to continue Lopez Obrador's transformation of Mexico with her own stamp.
According to her statement, "I have made the decision to leave the post definitively on June 16," she hopes to make history as the first woman who will direct Mexico's future.
The MORENA leadership met over the weekend and decided that the candidates should begin campaigning this week.
Most surveys have shown Sheinbaum with a modest lead over her opponent, former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who resigned from his post to run for president.
Sheinbaum stressed that previous polls showed her to be in the lead and expressed confidence that this would continue.
More than two-thirds of Mexicans, according to a report quoted by Sheinbaum, highly support the idea of a woman becoming president of Mexico. This research was issued by the national statistics office only last month. She said, "It's time for women."
According to the Times of Israel, Sheinbaum made history in 2018 when she became the first elected female and the first Jewish mayor of Mexico City.
Marcelo Ebrard, Another Presidential Hopeful
Ebrard claimed that, in order to have a fair election, potential candidates should resign from their current positions. Other potential candidates, like Interior Minister Adan Augusto Lopez, are also expected to step down.
After announcing his resignation, Ebrard spoke with the media and emphasized that strengthening public services like healthcare and education was just as important to him as enhancing national security.
He had previously said on the radio that the trade war between China and the United States presented Mexico with a good chance to double or more its economic growth.
