On June 2, Claudia Sheinbaum was elected to Mexico’s highest office. A climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum will now become the first woman president in the country’s history.
Her victory is part of a resounding win for the ruling Morena party and its allies, which gained a congressional majority in the elections. Now, the Mexican left may be able to reshape the country’s policy landscape through constitutional reform — something Sheinbaum’s mentor, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, tried unsuccessfully to do during his term.
This episode features a conversation between Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute Center for the U.S. and Mexico, and Lorena Becerra, a political scientist and pollster who previously worked at the newspaper Reforma. Tune in as they explore voter turnout on June 2 and the implications of Morena’s landslide victory for Mexican policy.
This conversation was recorded on June 4, 2024. A transcript is available here. This text was AI-generated and has not been through editorial review.
For more on issues central to U.S.-Mexico relations, check out the “Judy Ley Allen México Centered” podcast from the Center for the U.S. and Mexico.
Discussants
Lorena Becerra, Ph.D.
Political Analyst; CEO, Lorena Becerra Encuestas
Tony Payan, Ph.D.
Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies and Director, Center for the U.S. and Mexico, Baker Institute
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