Mexico's presidential candidate for Morena party Claudia Sheinbaum waves as she queues up before voting at a polling station in San Andres Totoltepec, Tlalpan in Mexico City, during the general election on June 2.CARL DE SOUZA/Getty Images
Media outlets and the ruling party declared Claudia Sheinbaum the winner of Mexico’s presidential election after polls closed on Sunday, putting her on course to be the country’s first woman president.
Television outlet NMAS and newspaper El Financiero both said their polls showed Sheinbaum winning, though they did not give figures.
The head of the ruling MORENA party Mario Delgado told supporters in Mexico City that Sheinbaum had won by a “very large” margin.
Mexico’s largest-ever elections have also been the most violent in modern history, with the killing of 38 candidates. The deadly violence has stoked concerns about the threat of warring drug cartels to democracy. On Sunday, two people were killed at polling stations in Puebla state.
Sheinbaum, who has convincingly led in opinion polls over her main competitor Xochitl Galvez, will be tasked with confronting organized crime violence. More people have been killed during the mandate of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador than during any other administration in Mexico’s modern history, although the homicide rate has come down over his term.
A victory for Sheinbaum would represent a major step for Mexico, a country known for its macho culture. The winner is set to begin a six-year term on Oct. 1.