Claudia Sheinbaum will become Mexico's first female president after winning a landslide election victory and promising to continue the work of her mentor and outgoing leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador whose help for the poor made him highly popular.
Former Mexico City mayor Sheinbaum, 61, won the highest vote percentage in the history of Mexico's democracy, according to preliminary results from the electoral authority, Reuters reported.
Her party's victory was so extensive that markets fell on concerns that the ruling coalition would secure a congressional super-majority, which initial results suggested was possible, allowing them to pass controversial constitutional reforms such as in the energy sector unchecked.
Mexico's peso lost as much as 4% against the dollar on Monday, later recovering a bit, trading down 3%. Mexico's stock market was down 3% in morning trade.
Sheinbaum secured between 58.3% and 60.7% of votes, according to the INE electoral institute's rapid sample count released late Sunday night.
In her victory speech on Sunday night, Sheinbaum, a physicist who was part of a United Nations panel of climate scientists that received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, thanked Lopez Obrador, calling him "an exceptional, unique man who has transformed Mexico for the better." Lopez Obrador doubled the minimum wage, reduced poverty and oversaw a strengthening peso and low levels of unemployment - successes that made him popular and helped Sheinbaum to victory. But analysts believe Sheinbaum will find it difficult to follow in his footsteps.
"We made history!" Sheinbaum told a crowd early Monday morning in the Zocalo square in the heart of Mexico City.
Her victory is a major step for Mexico, a country known for its macho culture and home to the world's second-biggest Roman Catholic population.
"It's a historic moment, especially for women," said Arlyn Rivera, a 24-year-old student, as she celebrated Sheinbaum's victory in the Zocalo plaza. "Mexican politics deserves more than what we have had in recent years."
Main opposition rival, Xochitl Galvez, conceded defeat after mustering just 26.6%-28.6% of votes, according to preliminary results.
Sheinbaum, who will take office on Oct. 1, is the first woman to win a general election in North America, comprising the United States, Mexico and Canada.
