What a female president means for Mexico

In what many deem a patriarchal country, two women are on track to make history as they are both presidential nominees in Mexico’s leading parties. Polls showed the two female candidates are currently front runners and the most likely to be elected presidents in the general election on June 2, 2024.

Claudia Sheinbaum, the former mayor of Mexico City, is running against Xochitl Galvez, a senator of the Mexican Republic. Sheinbaum represents the governing Morena party while Galvez is nominated by the opposition coalition Broad Front for Mexico. The two women are vying for incumbent Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s position, who is required to step down next year as the Mexican constitution bars presidents from seeking a second six-year term. AMLO has sparked outrage multiple times throughout his term for a string of sexist comments, including a recent remark in which the Mexican president called criticisms against him “a form of gender-based violence.”

Sheinbaum, 61, holds a Ph.D. in engineering and “sits solidly on the left of the ideological spectrum,” the Associated Press reported. The environmental scientist’s activism hones in on Mexico’s commitment to sustainability and push for safety measures during the coronavirus pandemic. Sheinbaum has also proven herself an ally of the LGBTQ community, presiding over the installment of a gender-neutral policy for school uniforms in Mexico City.

Though Galvez, 60, represents the conservative, center-right Pan party, has more than often pushed for a progressive agenda, according to The Guardian. The computer engineer makes the fight against poverty and climate change the forefront of her political priorities and continues putting her STEM background to use through her position as founder of High Tech Services, a company whose aim is at designing energy savings among other technological advancements.

Neither Sheinbaum nor Galvez has an explicitly feminist agenda, but both female candidates are considered socially progressive. Given the Mexican Supreme Court’s recent decision to decriminalize abortion nationwide under Mexico’s current political climate, many consider a female president for the country to be the next step in the right direction.

The politics of reproductive rights in the era of Trump with NARAL Pro-Choice American's Ilyse Hogue

In this episode, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue reflects on America's restriction on abortion access and ultimately the importance of women in political leadership and positions of power.

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This is Jessie Nguyen, The Democracy Group's Community Manager. Here are some of my favorite podcasts this week, check them out!

Politics is Everything: Flip Flops, Fact Checks & Republicans' 'Excess Seat' Edge in State Legislatures ft. Louis Jacobson

As Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy inquired about an impeachment against President Joe Biden without a House vote on Wednesday, this episode uses Polifact’s Flip-O-Metter and Truth-O-Meter to assess the reliability and accuracy of McCarthy’s inquiry. If you’re interested in learning about independently fact-checking politicians' statements and how “excess seat” in certain states is crucial to the GOP, give this episode a listen!

The Great Battlefield: Progressive Politics in Australia with Larissa Baldwin-Roberts of GetUp

A great take on how democracy plays out in other countries, this episode explores the political machine in Australia. Genocide, segregation, and mass incarceration are just among the many things that the States and Australia have in common. Believe it or not, American politics does affect things in this country all the way across the world and vice versa. Check it out!

Strike Force Five: Awards Show Screwups, Late Night Multiverse & Batman Wants to Murder Kimmel

This one is a nice break from the serious political discussion. Now that “Strike Force Five” is in full swing, I’m extremely excited to listen to new episodes every couple of days. For those of you who aren’t familiar, the podcast was created by “five of America’s top 11 most beloved talk show hosts” — Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyer, and Jimmy Kimmel — in support of the out-of-work writers and staff amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. This latest episode is lighthearted and entertaining like any other as it dives into the hosts’ embarrassing moments in their lives and unfortunately, at award shows.

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Philip Ewell is a professor of music theory at Hunter College of the City University of New York. He has authored the book “On Music Theory, and Making Music More Welcoming for Everyone” and the article “US music education has a history of anti-Blackness that is finally being confronted” for The Conversation. Ewell has discussed his expertise on race studies in music and other areas of specialty in The New York Times, BBC, The Economist, and VICE among other distinguished outlets.

Democracy Works: Tim Miller on Why Republicans Stuck with Trump

Tim Miller is a former Republican political operative and writer for The Bulwark and Rolling Stone. He was the communications director for the Jeb Bush 2016 campaign who authored the book “Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell,” which detailed Miller’s past work for the Republican Party and their loyalty to the MAGA movement. Miller has been described by Politico as one of the “most digitally fluent and social-media savvy” Republican operatives.