Mexicans celebrate election of first woman president

Mexico City: Thousands of singing, flag waving people packed a downtown square to celebrate Claudia Sheinbaum s ground breaking victory as Mexico s fi...

Mexico City: Thousands of singing, flag-waving people packed a downtown square to celebrate Claudia Sheinbaum's ground-breaking victory as Mexico's first woman president.

Maria de los Angeles Gordillo, a 37-year-old member of the Tojolabal Indigenous community, said she was moved to tears as she listened to Sheinbaum speak overnight Sunday into Monday.

"I'm here to celebrate this historic moment for our country and especially for women who carry these inequalities on their skin," she said.

Gordillo stood amid the crowd at the Zocalo, the main plaza in the capital city of this country plagued by drug cartels and gender-based violence that claims the lives of 10 women or girls on average every day.

Sheinbaum, a scientist by training, won around 58-60 percent of votes, according to preliminary official results from the National Electoral Institute, which estimated turnout at 60 percent.