Residents of Mexico would go to vote in the June 2 election amid an ongoing struggle with staggering violence across large territories.
Dozens of organised crime groups now control cities, neighbourhoods, and rural villages, according to AP News. Mexico’s largest cartels opened new fronts of violence in remote corners of the Mexico-Guatemala border. They not only fight among themselves, but also extort money from even the poorest residents.
Even the Catholic Church was forced to intervene, trying to negotiate peace in the conflict zones. However, criminal gangs continued to kidnap and kill priests.
Mexico’s next president will almost certainly be a woman, as both leading candidates are women. At the same time, a third candidate, a man, is trailing behind.
The prospect brought hope to some of Mexico’s most marginalised sectors. Indigenous women and the country’s 2.5 million domestic workers can now make their voices heard. One of the two female candidates provides continuity, while the others promise change.
However, other women, the mothers of more than 100,000 missing people in Mexico, have less reason to hope for change. Outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s ‘hugs, not bullets’ policy in the fight against drug cartels has not significantly reduced murders. His predecessors’ strategy of prosecuting drug lords did not improve the situation either.
Some Mexicans hope that any of the leading candidates can accelerate Mexico’s hesitant and limited steps toward clean energy. Most agree that López Obrador represents a step backwards. He built a huge new refinery, putting clean energy producers at a disadvantage.
His successor, favourite and former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, is an expert in climate science. As much of the country suffers from water shortages and prolonged drought, she promises rapid change.
