On June 2, people across Mexico will head to the polls to choose a new leader, as part of the largest election in the country’s history.
The election will allow voters to decide more than 20,700 positions at the federal and local level, including 500 seats in the country’s House of Representatives and 128 in its Senate.
But much of the attention will be on the race for president, as Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, colloquially known as AMLO, finishes his term as one of the most popular leaders in Mexico’s modern history.
Scientist and former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum hopes to succeed AMLO as the candidate for the political party Morena. But she faces competition from conservative rival Xochitl Galvez, a former senator and businessperson of Otomi Indigenous descent.
If Sheinbaum or Galvez succeeds in winning the presidency, it will be a historic moment for Mexico: Never before has a woman been elected president.
As Mexicans in each of the country’s 32 states prepare to go to the polls, Al Jazeera explores the stakes underpinning the election. Which issues have dominated the campaign, and how does the electoral process work?
We answer those questions and more in this explainer.
Presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum is the frontrunner in the race to succeed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador [Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/Reuters]
How big is the 2024 election?
About 100 million Mexicans are expected to cast their ballot in June, a record for a country that has seen voter participation decline in previous elections.
Participation in this year’s election is set to increase by approximately 11 million voters over the last presidential election in 2018.
How will the vote unfold?
According to the Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE), the country’s elections oversight body, Mexicans will vote at 170,000 polling stations (PDF) throughout the country. A voter identification card is required for participation.
Mexico has one of the largest diaspora…
Post from www.aljazeera.com