A woman could be Mexico's next leader

hello I'm Christina Lopez a Fox 26 news reporter and we are on the precipice of something historic yes this Sunday Mexico is poised to elect its first female president ever in its history and there are nearly a hundred million Mexicans who will cast their vote eligible to vote for its first female president and we really wanted to gain some insight locally on what this could mean for the more than 53 % AO population right here in Fresno County and for that we turn to one expert who can really shed some light and share her insights on what this could mean we're speaking with Dr Anabella espa she is a faculty with the Cho and Latin American studies at fres of State we speak with her now uh Dr n thank you so much for joining us today thank you for the invitation absolutely tell us uh a little bit about what Sunday's historic election could mean for the people of Mexico and really for those uh living here closer in the valley the Latino population here at home sure yeah I think for Mexico this is uh definitely historic election in that for the first time we have two female candidates that are leading the polls and so we've had female candidates before in Mexico but not by the main parties leading the polls at the same time and so really um I think in all likelihood and Sunday we will see a female being elected to um Mexico's presidency for the first time um and I do think this has been a trajectory we've been seeing in Mexico since the90s uh when Mexico really starts to adopt um gender parity laws and um we have you know a long trajectory of sort of modifying those laws to really um incentivize the political parties and the party Elite which had historically been has still historically been dominated by males to open up spaces of leadership for women um and so in some ways it isn't as surprising that we're here uh with two female candidates but at the same time it is a definitely a historic moment um where uh people the two significant choices are both females from the dominant parties um so I think that's on the Mexican side um uh thinking about local Central Valley um Mexico allows uh for um Mexican citizens who are leaving abroad to participate in elections and so I wouldn't be surprised if a significant percentage of the residents are going to be voting on Sunday's election um they have made it progressively easier for uh Mexicans living abroad to participate in elections and so I think we likely to see an increase in votes um in the last presidential election um something like I think was around 70 70 plus percent of for um votes cast abroad came from the United States um and we did see the candidates making their way to Los Angeles last year at some point to do some campaigning and so there's definitely recognition um of the import importance of the Mexican diaspora abroad um Mexico's um you know does depend heavily on the remittances that diaspora sense um and so I think in general really regardless of who wins um there's an understanding that the diaspora is important that they need to be kind of looked after as much as Mexico can and that often means kind of pushing um US government to kind of recognize and respect the the human rights of Mexican migrants living abroad um so I think we're unlikely to see any change there in the across the borders and understanding that the Mexican diaspora is important and could this uh see any potential violence in the streets of Mexico this weekend as they gear up for those elections I mean we've known that yesterday just as recently as yesterday uh the mayor was assassinated as well you know during broad daylight I mean is this something that you know voters should be concerned about I mean we definitely have seen uh an increase in political violence in Mexico over time and this last election it sort of Peaks um I think you know in general that's a broader term that so Mexico is not isolation you know in the US we've also seen an increase in political violence and so it's part of a broader Trend that's definitely worsome most of the election of the political violence in Mexico has been around local offices um and so it really more than anything signals the importance of local offices moral offices and um city councils for illicit organizations um right because having um having a friendly um local officials to them uh means there's less persecution they can do their business as usual um and so most of the violence has been geared around those kinds of candidacy and at that level I don't think we're likely to see a really significant Spike on Sunday uh but it is definitely worth noting and uh highlighting that it was a very political uh violence kind of heavy election and that's concerning um in part again because it signals sort of the the growth and the dominance of illicit organizations in Mexico and I'm sure Security will be incredibly heightened at those polling stations as well yes I sorry I lost your feed for a second and I couldn't hear you I'm sure uh the security will be extra heightened you know as I think so yeah yes we've definitely seen um The Electoral Authority coordinating and greater extent protecting the candidates um especially as we went through the election and and the violence sort of increased um and I think we're likely to see a very kind of um heavy security presence on the day off as well especially in those areas um where you know those states where violence tends to be High um and those contested local elections very good tell us what do you know a little bit about the background of uh the front runner right now uh Mexico City's mayor what can we really say about her I mean she is leading in the polls she is the favorite and she is poised to really uh make history on Sunday what could you share with us about that yes the candidate Claudia sham is really a very capable candidate you know she's had this challenge where she is definitely the favorite to win and was more or less handpick supported by the outgoing president um and so she's had to throughout the campaign really you know play this dual role where she has to dis make herself distinct as her own person her own candidate while also um you know writing the code Tales of a very popular president who has 60% approval ratings and so you know when you're trying to get elected you're not going to dismiss that 60% um so she's sort of been playing that line of trying to make herself distinct and as her own person not a puppet but at the same time signaling very strongly that her government would do a continuation of the policies that have made uh Lopez oor so popular in Mexico um but she is definitely very capable in her own term she was the first elected uh woman Mexico City mayor um she has a long career as a scientist as an engineer um and and so she's you know definitely capable um and I think that's definitely something that we see in um women candidates um across the broad not just in Mexico that when they get elected for these positions they tend to be very qualified and in many cases overqualified compared to the male counterparts right and so we definitely still see those gender nms where uh women have to be kind of excellent plus to get that same position that a male candidate might not need um and so I think in both terms both both the top candidates are are really very well qualified politicians um so u in that sense you know the Norms of kind of the the gender um the gender pressure is very much at play as well we see it in the candidates themselves very good and on a global stage what does this mean what does this signify I mean our neighbor you know to the South is electing its first female president I mean we have not been able to do that yet here State Side so what you know can this really teach us or tell us on a global stage what's your perspective on that yeah I think you know Mexico's election is is sort of it's part of a a bigger wave in Latin America of really prioritizing gender parity and so as I mentioned um Mexico like many other Latin American states have put in place uh laws that really incentivize or or demand that political parties um really take into account female candidates um and put them in electoral positions um so Mexico will be joining the ranks of Argentina Brazil Chile and Latin America where we' already seen female presidents um I think it also sort of signals um that again the fact that they're both top candidates from the dominant parties are female candidates really is a strong signal because um we're not likely to see then you know what we saw here in 2016 where you had a female candidate and a male candidate and so you know you really see some of those gender differences and Reporting um and that hasn't happened as much because the two top candidates are female right so in some ways that has made it easier um I think it it also shows the importance of really taking um gender parity uh into account and being deliberate about it right not only just talking about the importance of U having female in leadership positions um but really thinking through what kind of policies in place help those women come to those positions because as Mexico and other Latin American countries exemplify um unless you directly address it and uh Force those Gatekeepers to open the doors for females they don't it doesn't happen naturally right you kind of have to force their hand in many ways and so I think uh you know in order if we really want more female representation in the United States uh both the presidential level and in Congress we really have to think through what kind of policies can we put in place to to help um open spaces for what are very qualified female candidates who are just not taking into account so many takeaways so many lessons I mean the eyes of the world are really going to watch what happens on Sunday I mean regardless a woman will be elected uh female president I mean for the first time in Mexico so it really it is historic for a lot of reasons that I think whoever does win I mean it's it's going to be one for the record books absolutely yes I think this is going to be a big break and know the script of representation the idea of having a female in this powerful role is matters right I think in some ways it's going to be a challenge for them as well right because there's a lot of expectations going in and so whoever gets elected um has a heavy burden um to carry and it's going to be you know just like the the world we're all going to turn on Sunday to see what happens um and see the most probably the most likely candidate get elected um you know over the next six years where there's also going to be scrutiny in terms of well what does she do for um you know gender equality in Mexico right a country that still needs right with high level of femicides of gender based violence um and so what are her actual concrete policies going to be and and addressing that we saw a little bit when she was mayor of Mexico um but you know this is on a bigger scale with a security issue in Mexico that's that's a huge challenge for anybody coming in um and so also there's this idea that you know where is some that are we placing you know are we expecting a female candidate to all of a sudden come in and in six years solve a problem that hasn't been solved in 20 30 years um and so that also tends to be very kind of um gender response right where uh if she fails it's all her fault even though every other president hasn't failed in the same way right um so we'll see how that plays out but it will be an interesting country to watch I think over the next six years um and thinking about us Mexico relations having a female president is also going to be interesting given that we have an election coming up in November as well absolutely and you did touch on uh this word quite a bit already in our conversation gender and gender roles and U typically the you know the presidency is typically we've seen men lead countries regardless around the world where they are um that's typically who is leading and so um you know in in a country like Mexico where machismo is really big and even here uh you know in the valley we have a huge Lao population and men are taught you know to be strong and um you know practice their masculinity I mean even in a role like a presidency you know having a female step into that role I mean are we just eliminating these kind of gender stereotypes electing a female president no I mean I wish we were just like with that one sort of solving a you know 100 years old problem um unfortunately no but I do think it matters like the symbolism of it matters right and so having a female in that leadership position being in charge uh that matters for the women who are coming behind you know her um and also it matters for just um setting Norms right I think we also know that sometimes when you have um women um coming to this positions of our that can be backlash right with kind of more conservative groups and um especially maybe um conservative males right really kind of pushing back against being forced to open spaces for women um and so I think we may see some backlash but the symbolism of having descriptive representation that is having people who look like us in leadership positions has an important effect I don't think it's a Magic Bullet right and so I don't expect in a year's time for gender-based violence or um you know in Mexico to be resolved um it isn't going to happen I think it would be it's on it's it's just not going to be solve all the problems but it sends important signals to um the whole society about the ca ability and capability of women to lead and to hold important positions um that do trickle down we know from the research across all spheres um and so it is in that sense momentous and I think it's something worth celebrating um even if the next six years then it turn out to be a really um you know a huge challenge for whoever is going to be the president or presidenta in this case yeah so incredibly important all of those key points you've made I mean your Insight I mean something that you've studied your expertise really highlights a lot of these layers and it is so layered and we have to understand what that means going forward and this country too uh our final question to you today Dr espa is um what can this teach uh the US I mean we're watching closely I mean do we see a female president in our lifetime here in the states well definitely not in the next election we know that um but I think I think increasingly as we see more women Le in countries especially neighboring countries because I think a lot of time in the US we don't necessarily you know a lot of people may not have noticed that Argentina's president was a woman or that Chile's president or Brazil's president was a woman or even across the W the pond right in Europe where we had female leaders but Mexico is our next door neighbor and there is a lot of contact with Mexico and the Mexican presidency um and so I think that definitely having you know our next door neighbor um elect a female to this prominent role increasingly normalizes the idea that women can and should have the capabilities to lead countries um and so I think all of that adds the the blocks to what we need here in the US so that the next time we have um a president a female candidate right that there the playing field is more even right where there's less questions about her ability to lead and just assumption that of course she's capable of leading and let's look at the policies that she's proposing and that's what matters right not so much the gender whether she's actually capable right that those questions of capability um and ability are I think more and more kind of being set aside as we see more and more examples of women in powerful positions um I don't think we're quite there but I think increasingly they're sort of being set aside um and so I do think that the next time we have a female candidate in the US we're less likely to see those discussions right you know than at least we did in 2016 right um and so moving forward I think it helps um and and hopefully also I think one of the things we know matters in terms of having women in these powerful positions is that it encourages other women to also consider um running for uh candidates right and so um if you see a female in in this powerful position you're more likely as a female to also think that you can do that role that you're capable as well and so you're more likely to U run for office as well and so I think that that is also something that trickles down and we can expect it perhaps even in the Central Valley and more local elections right where you see uh especially with the Mexican-American Community U that you might see more women sort of then contemplating public office as well um having this really prominent example that they're going to be very aware of you've heard the saying the future is female and we're seeing it play out to our neighbors in the South um you ping ever so closely to the United States and maybe even on a local level local government as you mentioned that is a really great Point um maybe we will not just continue to see the first but maybe this will be a new precedent a new normal going forward I think so I think uh increasingly I think it's harder to turn that tide back right and so we're likely to see more and more progress even though sometimes it's slow progress but at least we're moving in that direction absolutely and hopefully women are less scrutinized especially in public office be a headline anymore yeah exactly like you know so that we're start to evaluate their job as as we evaluate anybody's job right the the fact that their women is sort of taken off the table and it's just is this a capable politician right are they proposing things that I want to stand behind that I want them to do and and they whoever's gender is no longer relevant I think that's sort of the ultimate goal um right like I said I think in Mexico because both women were female that kind of normalized things a little bit more I think that was really great push forward um but I think more and more we're we're more likely to see that um at least that's that's what we're hoping for for sure absolutely uh Dr Anabella espa thank you so much uh you are joining us as the faculty from The Cho and Latin American studies Department in fno state we thank you so much for your expertise your Insight and your perspective on this uh Global topic yeah I was H my pleasure to talk to you at this really important historic moment and we're all really excited to see how it plays out on Sunday in Mexico thanks for having me thank you so much

Channel: KMPH FOX26 NEWS

Views: 1,538

Keywords: Election, López Obrador, Mexicans, Mexico, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, President, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, resno State Professor Dr. Annabella España-Nájera

Id: 0xW8R3UbE10

Length: 19min 34sec (1174 seconds)

Published: Fri May 31 2024