Mexico’s 2024 Presidential Race: Two women lead the pack
By Gregg Wendorf
Advance News Journal
Based on the 2024 presidential race, one might make the claim that Mexico is just a little bit more forward looking than the U.S.
If my “take” on American politics is cynical, then so be it, but it’s hard not to be when the two front-runners in next year’s presidential election are two men who will be 78 and 81 when we go to the polls next October (early voting).
That’s not to say that age is the be-all, end-all when it comes to brains and the ability to think well and function. Billionaire Warren Buffett, for example, is 93, and his sidekick, Charlie Munger, is 99, and both are still at the top of their game mentally, and to some degree, physically. At least both still present well in public forums.
On the other hand, Joe Biden is definitely slipping to some degree in the physical sense. He doesn’t walk, stand, or sound the same as he did four years ago.
If you’re a Biden fan, forgive me, but the truth is the truth. Too many falls, slips, faux pas when speaking in public must give cause for concern.
Donald Trump who turns 78 next June is still doing well physically, even if he is overweight and dealing with legal issues that would send most of us around the bend.
In the most recent poll, ABC/Washington Post, Trump is leading Biden, 51 to 42 percent, which will either make you cheer or tear your hair out, your choice.
Down Mexico Way
South of the border, the presidential 2024 race is far different: two women pitted against each other, and both are Baby Boomers.
Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo is 61, and she’s running with the same political party currently tied to Mexico President Andres Manual Lopez Obrador, the Morena Party. She’s also Jewish, which will make her not only that country’s first female if elected, but also, the first Jew elected president.
In opposition stands Xochitl Galvez, 60, who is running with the Frente Amplio Por Mexico (The Broad Front for Mexico), which is a coalition party, partly comprising members of the old PAN and PRI parties, once fierce opponents, now aligned against Morena, which is considered the more liberal of the two, although Galvez herself is in line with what most consider liberal policies: pro-abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, turning the environment more green, etc.
In their professional careers, Galvez is a computer engineer who has built a successful business, while overseeing philanthropic endeavors. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, on the other hand, earned a PhD in energy engineering after earning a bachelor’s degree in physics.
Meaning, nobody can call either of them a slouch.
So how did two women make it to the top of the 2024 Mexico Presidential Election?
Call it a seismic shift in a Latin-American country where women didn’t earn the right to vote for president until 1953. But how did it get to this progressive stage?
The 2019 constitutional reform in Mexico that elected more women to office is known as “parity in everything” (paridad en todo). It was passed by the Mexican Congress on May 15, 2019, and ratified by the state legislators in June 2019. The reform requires that all political parties nominate equal numbers of men and women for all elected positions, including the presidency, governorship, and seats in the federal and state legislatures.
The reform was passed in response to long-standing demands from women’s rights groups and civil society organizations. In 2019, women held only 24.7 percent of seats in the federal Chamber of Deputies and 23.7 percent of seats in the federal Senate.
The “parity in everything” reform has had a significant impact on the representation of women in Mexican politics, as evidenced by the 2024 presidential race.
In the 2021 midterm elections, women won 53 percent of the seats in the federal Chamber of Deputies and 49 percent of the seats in the federal Senate. This was the highest percentage of women ever elected to the Mexican Congress.
Looking back over the history of Mexican politics, all one can say is, wow.
Now back to the U.S., and another ho-hum election, pitting Joe Biden against Donald Trump. One looks at the two candidates and asks, is this the best we can do?
Of course, the supporters for Joe Biden, and the supporters for Donald Trump, both say there is no better man to lead this country for the next four years.
Do you agree?