Mexico City mayor resigns from office to run for president in 2024

The mayor of the capital of Mexico has resigned. Claudia Sheinbaum announced that next Friday she will leave her position as head of the local government of Mexico City to officially run for the 2024 federal elections. Sheinbaum will fight to be the candidate from Morena, the party she founded more than 10 years ago together with current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador himself.

Sheinbaum's departure from the Mexico City mayor's office comes practically a year before the 2024 election. Several other candidates will compete with Sheinbaum, who is so far the only woman. Secretary of the Interior Adán Augusto López, former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard and Senator Ricardo Monreal have all announced their candidacies. According to the party's National Council, all must leave public office by Friday.

According to her statement, Sheinbaum intends to continue López Obrador's work at the head of the country, in addition to becoming the first woman to take the reins of the United Mexican States. "I make this decision because I consider that I am the only person who will be in the poll who comes from a scientific career and at the same time has participated in the struggle for the rights of the people of Mexico," Sheinbaum said in her statement.

By "poll," Sheinbaum refers to the method the party will use to determine which candidate will represent Morena in the 2024 federal elections. It is a survey distributed to the population with a series of questions about national current affairs to measure Mexicans' expectations about the candidates. It is expected that, by September, the results of the polls will be known and the Morena candidate will be chosen.

The Morena party swept Mexico's last local elections, and AMLO's popularity could play a big role in favor of the next Morena candidate. The current president declared not to have any favorite among the aspirants, but Reuters cites sources close to the president that assure that Sheinbaum is the leftist's choice. In Mexico, the Constitution does not allow a president to run for reelection and limits terms of office to a single six-year term.

According to opinion polls, Sheinbaum also leads the rating table of Morena's candidates, in close competition with former Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, who left his post on Monday.