The Know Daily - Monday 3 June 2024

_{Read in 5m 36s ∙ Listening to The Marías ∙}

Philanthropist Melinda French Gates announced last week that she’s committing $1bn to women’s causes and gender equity across the globe. The funds will be split among organisations tackling key issues like reproductive rights and economic security, with Gates saying the fund would “advance women’s power globally”.

🇲🇽 Landmark election

Mexico has elected its first female president, with a landslide victory for Claudia Sheinbaum. 

Tell me more.
According to an official quick count, the climate scientist won Sunday night’s election with over 58% of the vote, placing well ahead of her main rival, the businesswoman Xóchitl Gálvez. Sheinbaum - who has vowed to continue the policies of her mentor, the outgoing leftist president - must now contend with “several challenges”, said CNN, including organised crime, energy and immigration.

Why is the vote so significant?
According to Reuters, victory for Sheinbaum is a “major step” for Mexico - as despite the country being “known for its macho culture”, it is the first in North America to elect a female leader.

Sunday’s election was also Mexico’s biggest ever, with roughly 100m people registered to vote and 20,000 local and regional posts up for grabs. It was also the most violent in modern history, noted The Guardian, with more than 30 candidates murdered.

What else has been going on?
South Africa voted in landmark elections last Wednesday, and final results have confirmed that the African National Congress (ANC) party - once led by Nelson Mandela - has lost its majority for the first time since apartheid ended 30 years ago.

And in India, voting came to a close on Saturday in the “longest and largest” election in the country’s history, which began in mid-April with almost a billion eligible voters. Exit polls widely predict that PM Narendra Modi - whose Hindu nationalist policies have “significantly re-shaped” India’s secular democracy - has won an historic third term, The Guardian reported this morning.