Will Mexico elect a Jewish president?

The citizens of Mexico set out today (Sunday) to vote in general elections, in which they will choose 500 representatives, 128 senators, and thousands of local positions. But most eyes will be on the elections for President - where, for the first time, the state is expected to choose a woman for the role.

The leading candidate is Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, who served as head of Mexico City and is considered the successor to outgoing president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Sheinbaum Pardo is a Jew and granddaughter of immigrants from Lithuania and Bulgaria and if she wins - this will be the first time a Jewish candidate is elected President in Mexico.

Sheinbaum Pardo's main rival is Xóchitl Gálvez, who represents a bloc of three opposition parties. However, recent polls show Sheinbaum Pardo getting about 50% of the vote, as opposed to just 34% for Gálvez. The third candidate, Jorge Álvarez Máynez, gets just 11% - and he recently cut back on his campaigning when nine people died as a result of a campaign stage collapsing.