Voting in Mexico’s 2024 election is soon to be underway, with polls opening at 8:00 a.m. CST. The outcome is sure to be historic: Mexicans will weigh gender, democracy and populism, as they chart the country’s path forward in voting shadowed by cartel violence.

On the fringes of Mexico City in the neighborhood of San Andres Totoltepec, electoral officials filed past 34-year-old homemaker Stephania Navarrete, who watched dozens of cameramen and electoral officials gathering where frontrunner Claudia Sheinbaum was set to vote.

Navarrete said she planned to vote for Sheinbaum despite her own doubts about outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his party.

“Having a woman president, for me as a Mexican woman, it’s going to be like before when for the simple fact that you say you are a woman you’re limited to certain professions. Not anymore.”

She said the social programs of Sheinbaum’s mentor were crucial, but that deterioration of cartel violence in the past few years was her primary concern in this election.

“That is something that they have to focus more on,” she said. “For me security is the major challenge. They said they were going to lower the levels of crime, but no, it was the opposite, they shot up. Obviously, I don’t completely blame the president, but it is in a certain way his responsibility.”

Mexicans are voting Sunday in historic elections weighing gender, democracy and populism, as they chart the country’s path forward in voting shadowed by cartel violence.

The race is historic. With two women leading the contest, Mexico will likely elect its first female president. The elections are also the country’s biggest, with more than 19,000 congressional and local positions up for grabs.

The Associated Press’ reporting team on the ground will be providing updates throughout the day.