The June 2nd, 2024, election of Claudia Sheinbaum to the Mexican Presidency is being celebrated in Southeast Los Angeles County, a region that is the home to one of the largest Mexican populations in the United States.
For months prior to the election, SELA members of Mexico’s MORENA Party had been advocating for voting in the Mexican election. A group led by Higinio Pedraza would often stand outside Gallo Giro in Huntington Park with large banners showing Sheinbaum and MORENA Party flags, reminding passersby to register to vote in the election.
The group held an information meeting on May 17th about the election at ArtSpaceHP/Midnight Books. They reviewed the history of leftist political parties in Mexico, and viewed a documentary about Sheinbaum’s personal and political history. The short film showed how Sheinbaum and the current Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador joined with other leftists leaders to create the MORENA movement, which elevated their candidacies.
On June 1st, the ANSWER Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation held a panel in Huntington Park at the Ricardo F. Icaza Workers’ Center. The panel included former LA City Council Candidate Eduardo “Lalo” Vargas and MORENA party members. At the opening of the event, attendants were invited to symbolically “rip” a wall, and many took part in this effort.
On June 2nd, community members faced difficulties voting at the Mexican consulate in central LA, but they organized a caravan around the Mexican consulate to commemorate Sheinbaum’s victory. A supporter dressed himself as AMLO, and many took pictures and danced in celebration.
SELA elected officials, including Bell Gardens Council Member Marco Barcena, who was born in Mexico, joined in to congratulate Sheinbaum. Praising the new President, Barcena said “She’s a CLIMATE SCIENTIST and LEFTIST LEADER set to continue AMLO’S efforts towards equity.”
Danny Chavez, one of the organizers of MORENA in Huntington Park said, “It’s great that more and more members of our diaspora Mexican community are getting involved not in just learning about Mexican politics and history, but actually getting out there, voting, and engaging to defend Mexico from foreign intervention.”
Mexico is now the first country in North America to elect a female President. It is expected that SELA community members will become more interested in Mexican politics ahead of the 2027 midterms and 2030 Presidential election.
Southeast L.A. County Report 