MEXICO CITY (AP) — When Mexicans go to the polls on June 2, In an increasingly polarized country Vast areas continue to suffer staggering levels of violence.
Dozens of organized crime groups now control towns, neighborhoods and rural villages. Mexico’s largest cartels have opened new violent frontiers in far-flung places, such as the jungle-covered stretches of the Mexico-Guatemala border. They not only fight among themselves, but also extort money from even the lowest echelons of the economic hierarchy to fuel their illegal enterprises.
FILE – Erika Maria Cruz and her husband mourn beside the body of their son, Brando Arellano Cruz, who was shot and killed by police after failing to stop his car, in Lerdo de Tejada, Mexico, on Jan. 19, 2024. Mexicans will vote on June 2 in an increasingly polarized country that continues to suffer from staggering levels of violence. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)
Even the Catholic Church has been forced to intervene in peace talks in conflict zones, Watch as their own priests are kidnapped and murdered.
Mexico’s next president will almost certainly be a woman — with the two leading candidates both female and a third, a man from a smaller party, lagging behind — a prospect that is giving hope to some of the country’s most marginalized. Indigenous women And the country 2.5 million domestic workers“I am confident that their voices will be heard. Of the two female candidates, one is promising continuity, the other is promising change.”
FILE – Ruling party presidential candidate Claudia Scheinbaum, center left, surrounded by mayoral candidate Clara Brugada and Morena party leader Mario Delgado, addresses supporters during a campaign rally in Mexico City, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE – Opposition presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez greets supporters during a campaign rally in Huixquilucan, Mexico, April 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
Other women, More than 100,000 people missing in MexicoThere is less reason to expect change. “Hugs, not bullets” policy Policies against drug cartels have not led to a significant reduction in murders, and his predecessor’s strategy of pursuing drug lords with all-out war did not improve the situation.
Some Mexicans hope either of the major candidates could accelerate Mexico’s tepid and limited clean-energy efforts, a step most agree would mark a step backwards for fossil-fuel lover Lopez Obrador, who has maintained a major electoral presence despite not appearing on the ballot. Huge new oil refinery It puts clean energy producers at a disadvantage.
He was the leading candidate to succeed him, Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Scheinbaum With a background in climate science, and with large parts of the country suffering from water scarcity and prolonged drought, there is a sense of urgency and a strong desire for action.
FILE – Supporters of presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum gather in the Zocalo facing the cathedral during the opening of a campaign rally in the Zocalo in Mexico City, March 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario, File)
Pedestrians browse bridal dresses in a storefront window, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in Mexico City. Mexicans will vote Sunday in an election that prioritizes gender, democracy and populism, deciding the country’s future in a vote overshadowed by cartel violence. With two women leading the way, Mexico is likely to elect its first female president. (AP Photo/Matthias Delacroix)
FILE – A woman holds a sign that reads in Spanish, “I exchange my vote for my son,” referring to this year’s presidential election, during the annual National Search for Mothers March in Mexico City, May 10, 2024. Marchers complain the government is showing a lack of interest in investigating the disappearances of Mexico’s more than 100,000 missing people. (Associated Press/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE – Magdalena Hernandez Santis cuts weeds with a machete while her husband Pedro Cruz Gomez sprays herbicide on their field before planting corn, in the village of Tojolabal, Plan de Ayala, Chiapas, Mexico, May 2, 2024. Seven decades ago, Mexican women won the right to vote, and today the country is on the verge of electing its first female president. But some indigenous women who will vote in Sunday’s national elections still don’t have a say in their homes and communities. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE – Maria Hochihuat Pérez, whose daughter Nimbe disappeared five years ago, holds a sign offering a cash reward during a national march to find her mother, in Mexico City, May 10, 2024. The march came two days after President Lopez Obrador’s administration accused media outlets and volunteer searchers looking for the remains of missing people of “necrophilia.” (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE – A car covered with handicrafts for sale is parked on a street in Mexico City, Dec. 4, 2023. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in 2018 with a motto that outlined his administration’s priorities: “For the good of all, starting with the poor.” (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
FILE – A shopper holds up a postcard of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador outside the presidential palace in Mexico City, March 14, 2024. The postcard reads in Spanish, “AMLO, the coolest president.” (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
FILE – Peace flags fly on the fence around St. Francis Xavier parish church in Cerro Cahui, Mexico, May 12, 2024, where two Jesuit priests were killed by gang leader “El Chueco” in 2022. Mexicans will vote on June 2 in an increasingly polarized country that continues to suffer staggering levels of violence across the country. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
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