Mexico is gearing up for a historic 2018 presidential election that will feature an unusually diverse list of female candidates. The field is set to include the incumbent president’s wife, a leftist revolutionary, and a lawyer who made it her mission to take on and win some of Mexico’s most controversial court cases. The list is rounded out by a Popular Revolutionary Army commander and a former first lady, all vying for the top spot in one of Latin America’s largest countries.
Sitting President Enrique Peña Nieto is finishing his final term, and the daughter of his predecessor, former President Felipe Calderon, is set to run for the position. Margarita Zavala, an attorney and a former senator, is running as an independent candidate and has made it her mission to fight for civil liberties and the environment.
The leftist option for the 2018 presidential race is Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who previously sought the presidency and came very close to winning in 2006. As the standard-bearer for the National Regeneration Movement, an informal coalition of leftist parties, he is vying for the presidency once again.
Two other female candidates have also announced their intention to run in the election. Nailea Norvind, a former beauty queen and a former commander in the Popular Revolutionary Army, is standing as an independent candidate. Finally, Beatriz Gutierrez, a former first lady, is running on the slate of the small leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution.
It’s an unusual situation where no one individual has a clear plurality of the vote or a heavy funding advantage in the elections. Many Mexican voters are expecting a highly polarized campaign ahead of the July 2018 balloting.
The female candidates in the Mexico presidential race will have to grapple with a variety of issues, including the country’s high levels of poverty, violence, and corruption, which many of the candidates have already stated they are determined to address. Colombia has had female presidents before, and it seems likely that 2018 could see a woman in office in Mexico. It’ll be interesting to see which of the women experiences the greatest success in the upcoming election.
