Claudia Sheinbaum, the Head of Government for Mexico City, announced her resignation effective June 16, intending to pursue a presidential candidacy for the 2024 Mexican election.
Sheinbaum, if successful, could become the first woman to lead the nation.
Last week, after Marcelo Ebrard resigned as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Sheinbaum did not comment on her potential departure, stating she would adhere to her party’s rules regarding selecting a presidential candidate.
Besides Sheinbaum and Ebrard, other aspirants include Adán Augusto López, Secretary of the Interior, and Ricardo Monreal, a senator from the Morena party.
Other contenders include Gerardo Fernández Noroña from the Partido del Trabajo and Manuel Velasco from the Partido Verde Ecologista de México.
The opposition, united under the Va por México front and consisting of the PRI, PAN, and PRD parties, will establish their candidate selection rules on June 26.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Movimiento Ciudadano party plan to go solo.
After Sheinbaum’s announcement, all the candidates except López have confirmed their departure from their current roles.
Morena will use a national poll to decide their candidate for the 2024 presidency, potentially incorporating candidates from the Partido del Trabajo and the Partido Verde Ecologista de México.
Sheinbaum’s departure from her role as Mexico City’s governor comes ahead of her term’s official end in 2024.
She stated that her team would remain to finalize several ongoing projects but did not specify her replacement.
News Mexico, English news Mexico, Mexico City governor, Sheinbaum, Sheinbaum steps down as Mexico City’s governor to pursue presidential candidacy, presidential elections Mexico 2024