Fresh from the election victory that will make her Mexico’s first-ever female president, former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum received congratulatory messages on Monday from world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden.
On Monday morning, President Biden issued a statement from The White House complimenting Sheinbaum on her victory:
“I congratulate Claudia Sheinbaum on her historic election as the first woman President of Mexico. I look forward to working closely with President-elect Sheinbaum in the spirit of partnership and friendship that reflects the enduring bonds between our two countries. I express our commitment to advancing the values and interests of both our nations to the benefit of our peoples,” Biden said.
Biden also congratulated the Mexican public for carrying out “a nationwide successful democratic electoral process.”
Global leaders send best wishes to Mexico’s next president
Earlier Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement on social media saluting Sheinbaum’s win. Trudeau praised the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement as “the envy of the world, and the result of a strong, mutually beneficial relationship,” while proclaiming his desire to strengthen bilateral relations “to create more prosperity for Canadians and Mexicans alike.”
Among the first messages received by the unofficial president-elect (the National Electoral Institute will make it official by June 8) was a social media post from Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. The post was published at 1:24 a.m. while Sheinbaum was celebrating her historical achievement with a rally in the Zócalo.
Enhorabuena, @Claudiashein, por tu elección.
Por primera vez en su historia, México tendrá a una mujer al frente de la Presidencia.
Seguiremos trabajando para fortalecer las relaciones entre España y México.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) June 3, 2024
Sánchez applauded Sheinbaum for becoming Mexico’s first female president and promised to keep working to solidify bilateral relations. Sánchez later posted that he had spoken on the phone with the president-elect.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, also posted a congratulatory message to Sheinbaum on X, emphasizing the “deep historical, economic and cultural ties” between Mexico and the European Union and saying that she looks forward to strengthening relations.
In the wake of a recent diplomatic incident, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron sent his regards as well, posting on X that “the UK and Mexico have been friends for 200 years, working together closely on opportunities and shared challenges.”
Leaders of the Latin American left also joined the chorus. Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro, Bolivia’s Luis Arce, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, Xiomara Castro of Honduras, Gabriel Boric of Chile, Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala, Costa Rica’s Rodrigo Chaves Robles and Cuba’s Miguel Díaz-Canel all sent congratulatory messages to Sheinbaum as did Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, Uruguay’s Luis Lacalle and Panama’s Laurentino Cortizo.
Sheinbaum wasn’t the only victor on Sunday, though she was the most prominent. On June 2, Mexico’s electoral authorities oversaw more than 20,000 races at the local, state and federal levels. At the federal level Sheinbaum’s party, Morena and allies appear to have won a supermajority in the lower house of Congress and are likely to win a simple majority (less than two-thirds) in the Senate.
With reports from El Economista, El País and Infobae
