The INE established that the campaigning period for president, senators, and federal deputies would officially begin on 1 March and conclude on 29 May, three days before the elections.
Election silence was observed from 30 May until the polls closed on 2 June.
Issues Security Polling indicated that crime and violence ranked high on voters' concerns in the election. During the outgoing presidency of
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico experienced one of its bloodiest periods. From 2018 to 2022, the number of
intentional homicides surpassed 30,000, with the peak in 2020 at 36,773 homicides. However, since 2020, homicide rates have decreased. In 2023, homicides fell below 30,000 for the first time since 2018, totaling 29,675. Despite this decrease, the numbers remain higher than recorded between 1990 and 2017. Xóchitl Gálvez highlighted that security would be a top priority in her government. She opposed López Obrador's "hugs, not bullets" approach. She proposed several measures to strengthen state police forces nationwide, including raising their salaries to MXN 20,000 per month, building a university for aspiring police officers, and providing state governments with increased economic resources and advanced technology to combat crime. Gálvez also suggested doubling the numbers of prosecutors and judges and the size of the National Guard, redirecting the
Secretariat of National Defense's (SEDENA) focus from public works back to national security, vowing to work closely with the United States to confront the
drug cartels and to construct a new maximum security prison. Claudia Sheinbaum has expressed her commitment to replicating her success as
Head of Government of Mexico City, where, in 2023, her policies brought down intentional homicides to their lowest level since 1989. She explained that she would follow a similar structure, emphasizing zero impunity by strengthening coordination among the National Guard, state police forces, and prosecutors and improving intelligence and investigative services. Sheinbaum also announced plans to boost the National Guard's capabilities, allowing them to increase their duties in highway monitoring and as first responders. She also stressed the judicial branch's role in bringing criminals to justice, advocating that judges be chosen by popular vote and establishing a disciplinary court to punish corrupt judges.
Social programs President López Obrador implemented various social programs, the largest being the Pension for the Well-being of Older People (
Pensión para el Bienestar de las Personas Adultas Mayores), targeting individuals aged 65 and above. These programs are very popular among voters. Both Xóchitl Gálvez and Claudia Sheinbaum expressed their support for the social programs established by the outgoing administration and pledged not to abolish them. Gálvez proposed reducing the age eligibility for the Pension for the Well-being of Older People from 65 to 60. Sheinbaum pledged to ensure that any increases to the pensions from all social programs will always be above the inflation rate. and the other targeting women aged 60 to 64, where they would receive half the amount provided by the Pension for the Well-being of Older People. Claudia Sheinbaum is committed to following López Obrador's approach, believing that the country's energy policy should have a low rate of energy imports. She has claimed to be committed to diversifying Mexico's energy matrix, particularly with renewable energies. Xóchitl Gálvez advocated for a more free-market model approach to Mexico's energy sector, proposing significant reforms to Pemex by opening it up to private investment and reinstating oil auctions and joint ventures, using
Petrobras as an example. She stated that she would use the oil drilled by private companies for the
petrochemical industry and would produce electricity with renewable energies. Additionally, Gálvez emphasized the role of
natural gas as a transitional fuel and intended to increase investments in hydrogen and solar power.
Electoral reform President López Obrador unsuccessfully attempted to pass electoral reforms multiple times during his term. His latest proposal, unveiled on 5 February 2024 as one of twenty proposed constitutional reforms, aims to restructure the INE by reducing the number of counselors and requiring that electoral judges be elected by popular vote. Additionally, it would eliminate all seats allocated by
proportional representation, reducing the
Chamber of Deputies from 500 to 300 seats and the
Senate from 128 to 64 seats.
Fuerza y Corazón por México members have been critical of López Obrador's efforts to reform the electoral system and have successfully blocked previous legislative attempts, deeming them undemocratic. On 18 February 2024, the coalition organized nationwide protests, dubbed the "march for democracy", in multiple cities, with the largest one occurring at the
Zócalo in
Mexico City. Government figures estimate turnout at 90,000; however, organizers claim about 700,000 attendees were at the protests. Gálvez lauded the protests, asserting that Mexico's institutions would remain free from interference by authoritative figures. Sheinbaum suggested passing López Obrador's electoral reform if the outgoing administration failed to do so, supporting reducing the INE's costs, eliminating seats allocated by proportional representation, and advocating for counselors and electoral judges to be elected via popular vote. Additionally, she proposed a constitutional amendment to prevent reelection for any popularly elected position. Furthermore, she announced her willingness to subject herself to a recall election, mirroring
López Obrador in 2022.
Debates Before the campaigning period, the INE set the date and venue for the three presidential debates. According to electoral law, presidential candidates are required to take part in a minimum of two debates. Moderators were selected 30 days before the debate date. All debates were held in
Mexico City and were broadcast on the INE's official YouTube channel, INETV.
First debate The first debate was held on 7 April 2024 at the INE's headquarters. The theme of the debate was "the society we want", with questions focused on health and education, corruption and governmental transparency, discrimination against vulnerable groups, and violence against women. The debate was the first in 18 years without
López Obrador, who participated in the presidential debates during the
2006,
2012, and
2018 elections. The debate was characterized as light on proposals, with frequent personal attacks being prevalent. Gálvez was described as attempting to attack Sheinbaum whenever she had the opportunity to do so to provoke her opponent, interlacing attacks with incidents where Sheinbaum was involved, such as the collapse of the Colegio Rébsamen during the
2017 Mexico City earthquake, the
Mexico City Metro overpass collapse, and the
COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico City. Gálvez called Sheinbaum the cold and heartless "ice lady" and stated, "You're no
AMLO. You don't even have his charisma". Máynez accused Sheinbaum and Gálvez of belonging to the "old politics", highlighting that Gálvez was endorsed by the "worst
PRI in history". Many stated there was no clear winner and the debate would not influence polling. However, some highlighted Sheinbaum's calm and disciplined demeanor throughout the debate, even amid provocations from Gálvez. López Obrador stated that "the whole narrative of the debate was not to recognize anything" done under his administration. At the same time, sources from his government said that the president was dissatisfied with Sheinbaum for not adequately defending his policies.
Second debate The second debate was held on 28 April 2024 at
Estudios Churubusco. The theme was "the route to the development of Mexico", addressing economic growth, employment, inflation, infrastructure, poverty, climate change, and sustainable development. To ensure state inclusivity, the INE gathered questions from citizens of all 32 federal entities. The debate was the most watched in Mexican history, with 16.18 million viewers. Like the first debate, Gálvez was again described as the aggressor, holding placards several times while Sheinbaum spoke, prompting moderator Pérez Cañedo to reprimand her. Gálvez questioned Sheinbaum about investigating potential corruption within López Obrador's administration, including allegations involving one of the president's sons and the
illicit enrichment of
Rocío Nahle García, to which Sheinbaum challenged her to file a complaint. Throughout the debate, Sheinbaum avoided addressing Gálvez by name, referring to her instead as the "candidate of the PRIAN" and the "corrupt one"; in retaliation, Gálvez called her the "candidate of lies" and the "narco-candidate". Máynez was mostly ignored by the other candidates, which allowed him to flesh out proposals with periodic attacks on Gálvez. Some praise was also drawn to López Obrador's social programs, with Sheinbaum and Gálvez agreeing to maintain them. Many stated that the debate would not influence polling as there was no clear consensus on a winner. It was described that on social media, opinions on the winner were closely linked to views about the candidates before the debate. In Google Trends, Máynez led in average interest during the debate, although there were moments when Sheinbaum had higher peaks than Máynez.
Third debate The third and final debate was held on 19 May 2024 at
UNAM's Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco. The theme was "democracy and government: constructive dialogues". Questions focused on social policy, insecurity and organized crime, migration and foreign policy, democracy, pluralism, and division of powers. On 18 April 2024, the INE selected journalists Luisa Cantú Ríos, Elena Arcila, and Javier Solórzano Zinser as moderators of the debate, each respectively representing Mexico's northern, southern, and central regions. The debate's format would have initially allowed candidates to engage with each other directly. The debate saw Claudia Sheinbaum defend López Obrador's security policy and pledge to continue tackling the Mexican drug war from a social angle. Meanwhile, Xóchitl Gálvez said that "Hugs for criminals are over", referring to López Obrador's slogan "Hugs, not bullets" and pledged to strengthen the
National Guard created by López Obrador as well as state and local police forces. Jorge Álvarez Máynez focused on youth empowerment during the debate and pledged to implement a five-day workweek and create more spaces in public universities. Many commentators criticized the debate's format and the removal of the face-to-face portion, arguing that it hindered meaningful dialogue. Opinions on the winner varied, with some finding it unclear and others declaring Sheinbaum the victor, claiming that Sheinbaum won because Gálvez had lost, as she spent too much time attacking Sheinbaum instead of presenting her proposals. Most polls indicated that Sheinbaum was perceived as the winner. == Incidents ==