By Laura Gamba
BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Leaders from several countries in Latin America congratulated Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum on her landslide victory in Sunday's presidential election.
Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and the former mayor of Mexico City, became the first woman to be elected president of the nation.
President of Colombia Gustavo Petro described Sheinbaum's victory as "a triumph" for Mexico. “Congratulations to my friend Claudia Sheinbaum, together we will work to see Latin America united and progressing,” he said on his X account, along with a photograph in which he appears with the new president.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric congratulated the newly elected president “for becoming the first female president of Mexico.”
“I hope that her leadership and her social progress program inspire the region and continue to unite us as brother countries. A hug to all the Mexican people,” he wrote on X.
Bolivian President Luis Arce also greeted Sheinbaum’s victory and highlighted Mexico's broad participation of its population in the electoral process. “From the Plurinational State of Bolivia we celebrate and send our most sincere congratulations to Sister Claudia Sheinbaum for her resounding victory in the general elections and making history by becoming the first woman to assume the presidency of the brother country of Mexico,” said Arce.
The government of Venezuela also extended words of congratulations to Sheinbaum for her "resounding victory" in the elections. Foreign Minister Yvan Gil voiced his support for the president-elect in a statement and congratulated President Lopez Obrador, who concludes his mandate "with robust national and international leadership."
The president of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel advocated continuing to strengthen bilateral relations between both nations. “Count on the Cuban willingness to continue strengthening the endearing brotherhood that unites our people,” Diaz-Canel wrote.
President Xiomara Castro of Honduras congratulated Sheinbaum for what she called a resounding victory, especially for women.
“As the first female president of Honduras, I extend my sincere congratulations to the first female President-Elect of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, for having achieved a resounding electoral victory alongside the people of Mexico and our friend Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. We agreed by telephone to work together for the unity of Latin America and the Caribbean,” Castro wrote on her X account.
The leaders of Panama and Guatemala also used the social media platform to congratulate Sheinbaum.
Before Sheinbaum, only seven women in Latin America were elected to be president.