MEXICO CITY: Claudia Sheinbaum was elected Mexico's first woman president by a landslide on Sunday, making history in a country plagued by violence.
Flag-waving supporters sang and danced to mariachi music in celebration of the ruling party candidate's victory.
"I want to thank millions of Mexican women and men who decided to vote for us on this historic day," Sheinbaum told the cheering crowd.
The 61-year-old former Mexico City mayor thanked her main opposition rival Xochitl Galvez, who conceded defeat.
Sheinbaum, a scientist by training, won around 58-60 percent of votes, according to preliminary official results from the National Electoral Institute, which estimated turnout at 60 percent.
That was more than 30 percentage points ahead of Galvez, and some 50 percentage points ahead of the only man running, centrist Jorge Alvarez Maynez.
Maria de los Angeles Gordillo, a 37-year-old member of the Tojolabal Indigenous community, said she was moved to tears as she listened to Sheinbaum speak.
"I'm here to celebrate this historic moment for our country and especially for women who carry these inequalities on their skin," she said.
Voters had flocked to polling stations across the Latin American nation, despite sporadic violence in areas terrorized by ultra-violent drug cartels.
Thousands of troops were deployed to protect voters, following a particularly bloody electoral season that saw more than two dozen aspiring local politicians murdered.
Women going to the polls had cheered the prospect of their favored candidate breaking the highest political glass ceiling.
Nearly 100 million people were registered to vote in the world's most populous Spanish-speaking country, home to 129 million people.
Sheinbaum owes much of her popularity to outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a fellow leftist and mentor who has an approval rating of more than 60 percent but is only allowed to serve one term.
Sheinbaum has pledged to continue the outgoing president's controversial "hugs not bullets" strategy of tackling crime at its roots.
The next president will also have to manage delicate relations with the neighboring United States, in particular the vexed issues of cross-border drug smuggling and migration.
As well as choosing a new president, Mexicans voted for members of Congress, several state governors and myriad local officials -- a total of more than 20,000 positions. — AFP
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