2024 Mexican general election

General elections were held in Mexico on 2 June 2024. Voters elected a new president to serve a six-year term, all 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies, and all 128 members of the Senate of the Republic. These elections took place concurrently with the 2024 state elections.

Claudia Sheinbaum, a member of the left-wing political party Morena, was widely regarded by her party as the top contender to succeed President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and ultimately secured the nomination of the ruling coalition, Sigamos Haciendo Historia. Xóchitl Gálvez emerged as the frontrunner of Fuerza y Corazón por México following a surge in popularity due to criticisms from López Obrador. Citizens' Movement, the only national party without a coalition, nominated Jorge Máynez. This was the first general election in Mexico's history in which most contenders for the country's presidency were women.

Sheinbaum won the presidential election by a landslide margin of over 33 points, becoming the first woman and the first person of Jewish descent to be elected president of Mexico. She was also the first Jewish woman elected head of state in Latin America. The election saw Sheinbaum receiving the highest number of votes ever recorded for a candidate in Mexican history, surpassing López Obrador's record of 30.1 million votes from 2018. Sheinbaum was officially sworn into office on 1 October 2024.

In the legislative elections, the Sigamos Haciendo Historia coalition won a supermajority in the Chamber of Deputies, securing 73% of the seats, the highest share for a party or coalition since 1982. The alliance fell three seats short of a supermajority in the Senate, but defections by the two senators elected for the PRD on 28 August closed the shortfall to one; the supermajority was ultimately secured with the defection to Morena of Cynthia López, elected for the PRI in Mexico City, on 12 November.

Background

Political background

In the 2018 election, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a three-time presidential candidate and founder of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), ran as the candidate of the Juntos Haremos Historia alliance, which included Morena, the Labor Party (PT), and the Social Encounter Party (PES). He won in a landslide, securing 54.71% of the vote and defeating his closest rival, Ricardo Anaya of the Por México al Frente coalition, by nearly 31 percentage points. The Juntos Haremos Historia alliance also secured majorities in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

As president, López Obrador expanded the Mexican welfare state with programs aimed at the elderly and low-income students, raised the minimum wage significantly, and invested heavily in infrastructure projects such as the Tren Maya and the Felipe Ángeles International Airport. He combatted corruption by implementing austerity measures, including salary caps, budget cuts across the government, and the dismissal of numerous government employees. While his administration achieved a poverty reduction, it faced accusations of democratic backsliding and undermining institutional independence, including frequent attacks on journalists and judges during his morning press conferences and questioning the necessity of independent public agencies such as the INE and INAI. His term was also marked as one of the bloodiest in Mexico's history—although the homicide rate declined, the total number of deaths exceeded those recorded under any previous administration.

During the 2021 elections, party alliances shifted significantly. The National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) formed a big-tent coalition to challenge Morena's growing dominance. While Juntos Hacemos Historia, an alliance of Morena, the PT, and the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM), lost its supermajority in the Chamber of Deputies, it achieved significant success in local elections, flipping numerous governorships.

López Obrador remained highly popular throughout his presidency, consistently maintaining a 60% approval rating, making him one of the most popular leaders globally.

Political violence

Political violence in Mexico typically escalates during election season, with candidates often facing threats, abductions, assaults, or assassinations. While this violence is most common at the municipal level, it can also occur at the federal level.

During the 2021 elections, 102 politicians were killed, including 36 who were nominees or candidates for public office.

By January 2024, before the campaigning period started, multiple aspiring candidates for political office had been killed. The government provided security guards to around 560 candidates and election officials. Around 27,000 Armed Forces and National Guard personnel were deployed to secure the electoral process. By May 2024, the candidate death toll had risen to 37.

Electoral system

The National Electoral Institute (INE) oversees federal elections in Mexico. Its responsibilities include organizing election day logistics, producing and distributing electoral materials, counting votes, and certifying the election results.

Voters must present their voter ID at polling stations to cast their ballots. Voters with physical limitations or disabilities and voters in preventive detention can vote in advance, with electoral materials sent to the voter. Mexican citizens residing abroad who maintain their political rights can vote by registering in the Electoral Roll for Citizens Residing Abroad and casting their votes at an embassy, electronically, or by mail.

On 30 April 2024, the INE announced that there were 98,329,591 registered voters in Mexico, 187,388 registered voters abroad, 30,391 registered voters in preventive detention, and 4,002 registered for early voting.

Presidential election

The president is elected by plurality voting in a single round; there is no provision for a second run-off round. Article 83 of the Mexican Constitution limits the president to a single six-year term, called a sexenio; no one who has served as president, even on a caretaker basis, may run for or serve in the office again. The new president will be sworn in on 1 October.

Legislative elections

The 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected in two ways: 300 are elected in single-member constituencies by plurality vote, and the remaining 200 are elected by proportional representation in five multi-member districts, with seats divided according to Hamilton's method. No party is permitted to hold more than 300 seats. Deputies are elected for three-year terms and will serve in the 66th Congress.

The 128 members of the Senate are also elected in two ways: 96 are elected in 32 three-seat constituencies based on the country's states, and the remaining 32 in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation. In the three-seat constituencies, two seats are allocated to the party or coalition receiving the most votes (mayoría relativa) and one seat to the party or coalition receiving the second-highest votes (primera minoría). Senators are elected for six-year terms and will serve in the 66th and 67th Congresses.

Redistricting

In December 2022, the INE redistributed the country's 300 electoral districts, making this the first election with the new boundaries. Minor adjustments were also made to the five multi-member constituencies, affecting the states of Hidalgo and Querétaro.

Political parties and coalitions

Seven national political parties were registered with the INE and were eligible to participate in the federal elections: the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), the Labor Party (PT), the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM), Citizens' Movement (MC) and the National Regeneration Movement (Morena).

The General Law of Political Parties stipulates that national political parties can form coalitions for elections by submitting a coalition agreement to the electoral authority. Parties cannot join coalitions in their first election. All parties were eligible to join an alliance in this election.

Parties failing to reach 3% of the popular vote in the presidential or legislative elections will lose their registration as a national political party.

Summary

Sigamos Haciendo Historia

Sigamos Haciendo Historia ("Let's Keep Making History") was established on 19 November 2023 as the direct successor to Juntos Hacemos Historia, encompassing the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), the Labor Party (PT), and the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM).

Fuerza y Corazón por México

On 26 June 2023, the leaders of the constituent parties of Va por México, a big tent opposition coalition, announced the formation of Frente Amplio por México ("Broad Front for Mexico"). Comprising the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), the grouping was created to select a presidential nominee.

On 29 August 2023, Dante Delgado, the party leader of Citizens' Movement, ruled out joining Frente Amplio por México.