Arlington professor witnesses history in Mexico as country elects first female president
ARLINGTON — Dr. Xavier Medina Vidal is a binational citizen of the United States of America and Mexico. This gave him the opportunity to cast a vote in the historic race for president in his family's native country.
"For the first time in a presidential election, people abroad could vote electronically," Medina Vidal said.
The 45-year-old Director of the Center for Mexican American Studies at UT-Arlington said he voted at the Mexican Consulate in Dallas. Then, he said that, as a member of Fuerza Migrante, an economic and social empowerment migrant advocacy group, he went to Mexico to observe the election results.
He was in Mexico City when Claudia Sheinbaum became Mexico's first female president in the same city where she was mayor.
"I was on the Zócalo (Main Square) as she took the stage and declared her victory," he said. "She was more conciliatory than (President Andres Manuel) López Obrador was six years ago. I think she's much more willing to, you know, reach across the aisle."
He documented the historic moment on his cell phone, including video of the Mexican national anthem playing, revelers carrying flags, images of Sheinbaum on signs, and her victory speech as it rang out word for word.
As powerful and memorable as the night was, Medina Vidal said he remains cautiously optimistic.
"Maybe folks put a little bit too much emphasis on the historic nature of being the first woman president," he said. "That's wonderful, but let's wait and see if the policies follow, right."
Sheinbaum, Jewish by faith, won in a country where Catholicism is dominant. However, the Arlington-based political analyst said her faith was never a campaign issue. Mexicans are concerned for their safety, he said.
They also want to continue to have a solid relationship with their neighbors to the north, even as immigration continues to be a hot-button issue in America.
"It matters more to Mexicans that Mexico and the U.S. have a good relationship than I think Americans, U.S. voters, it's much lower on the American voters' radar," he said.
Medina Vidal said Sheinbaum is leaning on the continuity of her political mentor, the outgoing president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
He said he's watching how she funds Mexican consulates, which are connected to migrants and binationals. Medina Vidals said his friends also want to see how migrants get treated.
According to the Mexican constitution, Sheinbaum will be sworn in on October 1. That's when he said the world will see who shows up to work.
"Sheinbaum the academic, the scholar, the technocrat, the public administrator, or Sheinbaum the politician," he said.