Claudia Sheinbaum becomes first woman president of Mexico

The candidate of the governing left, Claudia Sheinbaum, who made history on Sunday by winning the presidential elections and becoming the first woman to hold this position in Mexico, assured that she "will not disappoint the aspirations" of her citizens, while a great challenge awaits her: the containment of drug gangs and violence against women.

The former mayor of Mexico City, 61, won a landslide victory, with 58 to 60 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results from the National Electoral Institute.

Sheinbaum was far ahead of her rival, opposition candidate Suchitl Galvez, who received an estimated 26 to 28 percent of the vote, according to the results announced by the institute's president, Guadeloupe Taday.

Sheinbaum based her victory on the popularity of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whom she described as "an extraordinary man" who has "changed the history of our country for the better."

The centrist candidate, Jorge Alvarez Mines, trailed by a wide margin (11.4%).

"I will be the first woman to assume the presidency of the republic in 200 years," Sheinbaum said, referring to the date of independence in 1821, and promised to "continue building a true welfare state." "I will not disappoint your expectations," she insisted.

Her rival, Galvez, announced that she had contacted her "to confirm the results of the election.

Sheinbaum will take office on October 1, succeeding her political mentor, outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, for a six-year term ending in 2030.

The outgoing president congratulated the president-elect, "who received perhaps the highest number of votes in the history of our country."

Sheinbaum noted that her National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party and its allies retained a "qualified majority" in Congress and most likely in the Senate.

The party also retained the mayorship of Mexico City, a stronghold of the left in Mexico for 25 years, with the victory of its candidate, Carla Brugada.

In the evening, Sheinbaum greeted supporters gathered in the Zocalo square in the center of the capital.

Maria de los Angeles Gordio, 37, told AFP: "I am moved to tears ... as I celebrate here this historic moment for our country and especially for us, women, who suffer from inequality.

According to the United Nations, an average of nine to ten women are killed every day in the country. Overall, 70% of Mexican women over the age of 15 have experienced violence at least once in their lives, according to the same source.

Casting her ballot in Mexico City, Sheinbaum hailed the "historic day.

She revealed that she did not vote for herself in the presidential election, but for the pioneer of the Mexican left, Ephegenia Martinez, 93, in recognition of her struggle. She concluded by saying, "Long live democracy.

Sheinbaum, the descendant of a Jewish family that fled Nazism and poverty in Lithuania and Bulgaria, must face the challenge of drug trafficker violence.

For years, Mexico has averaged more than 30,000 murders a year, or about 80 crimes a day.

Outgoing President Obrador noted that three-quarters of the homicides are related to clashes between criminal gangs over control of local drug markets.

Many cartels are competing to control the transport of drugs to the United States.

The pace of violence has accelerated since December 2006, when former President Felipe Calderon (2006-2012) sent the army to fight the gangs.

Since then, Mexico has recorded some 450,000 murders and 100,000 disappearances.

"We will lead Mexico to peace and security," the president-elect declared.

She promised to address the causes of violence, strengthen the National Guard, and adopt a policy of "no impunity" in the face of violence.

98.3 million registered voters were invited to cast their ballots. Voters stood in long lines under the blazing sun from Tijuana to Mexico City, passing through Guadalajara, according to Agence France-Presse photographers.

The elections were marred by violence in some areas.

Two people were killed in two attacks on a voting center on Sunday during this election. The two attacks took place in two regions of the central state of Puebla, according to a local security source.

One candidate for municipal elections was killed on Friday in the same state.

Another candidate was killed overnight, hours before polls opened in the west, prosecutors said.

At least 25 candidates have been assassinated during the campaign, according to an Agence France-Presse tally as of Saturday.

In addition to the presidential election, voters were asked to renew Congress and the Senate, elect governors in nine of the country's 32 states, and choose mayors. A total of 20,000 seats are up for election.