Claudia Sheinbaum was campaigning for president in southern Mexico when hooded men approached her car, filming the interaction as they implored her to keep their town from being taken over by gangs. One man said he felt helpless, and that the government had “never done anything for these lands.” They lived in Chiapas, Mexico’s poorest state and an increasingly important territory for criminal organizations moving illegal drugs, firearms and migrants from neighboring Guatemala. Sheinbaum thanked the men, shaking one of their hands before her car pulled away. The former Mexico City mayor is the frontrunner in a landmark election this weekend where Mexico is all but certain to emerge with its first female president – a remarkable achievement in a country known for its patriarchal culture and high rates of gender-based violence, where around 10 women are murdered every day. Sheinbaum is riding on a wave of popularity with the support of her long-time ally, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and their…
