Mayor of Mexico City and chancellor begin race for the presidency of Mexico

First modification: 06/13/2023 – 02:43

Both officials, who dot the polls, resigned minutes apart at the start of the race to win the candidacy of Morena, the party of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The presidential elections will be held on June 2, 2024.

“I have made the decision to definitively separate myself from office (…) in order to become the first woman in the history of Mexico to lead the destinies of the nation,” Sheinbaum told the press, detailing that her resignation will take effect next Friday.

Meanwhile, Ebrard formalized his resignation from the Foreign Relations Secretariat in a meeting with López Obrador at the presidential palace, after announcing his departure from office last week.

“From today I will dedicate myself to another very important task, which is to defend the Fourth Transformation (as López Obrador baptized his movement) and see to its permanence and consolidation in the years to come,” the former official told the press after the appointment.

The candidate on the left will be the winner of a survey that will be carried out nationwide between August 28 and September 3, and that will include several questions.

race of two

The Secretary of the Interior (Interior), Adán Augusto López, Senator Ricardo Monreal and Deputy Gerardo Fernández will also take part in the bid for the candidacy, although in light of the polls they have little chance.

The interior secretary is expected to resign in the coming days and the president will announce the replacements in the cabinet this week.

A 60-year-old physicist by profession, Sheinbaum has governed Mexico City since December 2018. In the event of winning the elections, this leader of Lithuanian and Bulgarian descent would become the first woman to occupy the presidency of Mexico, the second Latin American economy after the Brazilian.

With calls for unity in his ranks, Morena defined the rules for the selection of his candidate on Sunday, amid suspicions about the closeness between López Obrador and the head of government of the capital.

AMLO’s party —as the president is called by his initials— is by far the favorite to continue governing for another six years, regardless of who wins the candidacy, according to various measures.

“The previous polls that have been carried out put us in the first place and I am sure that it will continue to be so,” said Sheinbaum, who did not specify who will replace her in the position.

63-year-old and of Jewish descent, Ebrard, who already competed for the presidential candidacy with López Obrador himself in 2012, hoped to be the standard bearer for Morena. “Smile, we’re going to be fine,” this international relations graduate and former mayor of Mexico City told the press.

The president avoided ruling on the candidates this Monday, but called on them to defend their political movement above personal interests.

“Those are ideals, they are principles, not lying, not stealing, not betraying the people; then, that is what has to be put forward,” said the president during his usual press conference.

Still no opposition rival

In the general elections, the two chambers of Congress will also be renewed, in addition to several governorships.

After his victory in the gubernatorial elections that were held in the State of Mexico —the most populous in the country— on June 5, López Obrador’s party started out as the great favorite to win the presidency and achieve a majority in Congress.

The opposition parties PAN, PRI and PRD agreed to maintain their electoral alliance with a view to the presidential elections, but have not yet defined when and how they will choose their candidate.

On his side, some figures stand out, such as deputy Santiago Creel or senator Lilly Téllez, both from the conservative PAN.

AFP