"Mexico's democracy will be secure," says Lula on Mexican elections
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that Mexico's democracy is "secure" with Claudia Sheinbaum's victory in the presidential election.
Sheinbaum, 61, has a progressive profile and is a member of the Morena party, the same party as current president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has governed Mexico since 2018 and is considered center-left. Xóchitl Gálvez finished in second place. This marks the first time Mexicans have elected a woman as president.
“I'm very happy with the victory because she represents my great comrade López Obrador, who has led an extraordinary government and, therefore, I think Mexico will be democratically secure throughout her term. I'm also happy that she's a woman, happy because two women contested the elections and the one representing the ideological side closest to progressive people in the world won,” said Lula.
Lula made these remarks in a brief press meeting on Monday (Jun. 3), before his working agenda with the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brasília.
The Brazilian president also announced his intention to travel to Mexico later this year to express his gratitude to López Obrador for his "affection" and to explore possibilities for increasing bilateral trade.
Trade balance
According to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, trade relations between Brazil and Mexico have strengthened in recent years. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Brazilian exports to Mexico surged by 74 percent from 2019 to 2023, reaching $8.5 billion. However, these exports accounted for only 2.5 percent of Brazil's total exports during that period.
On the other hand, Brazilian imports of Mexican products account for 2.3 percent of the total. In 2023, Brazil imported $5.5 billion worth of goods from Mexico, marking a 4.9 percent increase compared to 2022.
With nearly 130 million inhabitants, Mexico boasts the second-largest economy in Latin America, trailing only Brazil. In 2023, the country's economy expanded by 3.2 percent of GDP, marking the second consecutive year of growth exceeding 3 percent.
