By 
06-06-2024
Oona Carteron
Human Rights Researcher
Global Human Rights Defence
On June 2, Claudia Sheinbaum’s victory appeared as a milestone for Mexico’s presidential elections. The former climate scientist and Mayor of Mexico City becomes the first ever female president in her country’s history.
Her victory raises questions as to her ability to enact a real change on matters related to women’s rights and gender equality in a country where gender-based violence and femicide have reached an all-time high in the past couple of years. According to official figures, Mexico is afflicted by impunity, injustice, and violence with 11 femicides a day, well over 100,000 people missing, including a third of women since 2006. (1) The women of Mexico have been taking to the streets repeatedly for the past 10 years– protesting, withstanding tear gas, repression, and repeated violence.
The year 2024 was particularly significant as two women, Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez, competed for Mexico’s presidency in the elections, marking an unprecedented advancement for women representation in public and political spheres. This comes as hope for significant change as former President Andrès Manuel Lopez Obrador came under scrutiny for his active support of a candidate in the run for Governor who had been accused of rape by multiple women. However, is this hope justified?
In a speech a couple months prior to her election, Claudia Sheinbaum asserted “today, we Mexican women no longer dream of being princesses, but of becoming president” which sparked a new wave of optimism among women in Mexico. (2) However, one could argue that Sheinbaum’s presidency is another sad but very real example of how female leadership doesn’t always lead to progressiveness and clear advancements of women’s rights. Many activists raised their voices denouncing the symbolic aspect of the two candidates’ campaigns largely dominated by “issues that matter to men”. (3) Indeed, her agenda seems to fall short of measures to tackle gender-based and domestic violence or reproductive injustice.
This appears quite contradictory as Mexico ranks high on female political representation having reached parity in the country’s Congress. However, although the presence of women in the political realm illustrates the success and resilience of feminist movements in the country, neither Sheinbaum nor Galvez included gender as part of their policy agenda. Needless to say that all intersectional aspects of gender-policing from LGBTQI+ or indigenous women’s rights for instance were also absent from the debate. No mention was made of Mexico’s controversial stance on abortion rights as although the Supreme Court deemed the criminalisation of abortion unconstitutional in 2023, it remains a felony in 19 penal codes across the country.
The state seems to have opted out of tackling the epidemic of gender-based violence, fueled by all-powerful drug cartel activities, the responsibility thus falling onto the shoulders of the many women associations working within civil society. However, Claudia Sheinbaum’s record as Mayor of Mexico city has built expectations and leaves the door open for her to enact real political change as President.
Sources and further readings:
(1) Elipe, M. (2024). In Mexico, women are fighting gender-based violence “nourished by love, empathy and the desire for justice”. Equal Times. Consulted on June 6, 2024 at https://www.equaltimes.org/in-mexico-women-are-fighting?lang=fr
(2) Baptista, D. (2024). Mexico’s first female president offers little on women’s rights. Context. Consulted on June 6, 2024 at https://www.context.news/socioeconomic-inclusion/mexicos-first-female-president-offers-little-on-womens-rights
(3) Vigna, A. (2024). Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s likely feminist-in-chief. Le Monde. Consulted on June 6, 2024 at https://www.lemonde.fr/en/m-le-mag/article/2024/06/01/claudia-sheinbaum-mexico-s-likely-feminist-in-chief_6673389_117.html
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