Mexico's ruling party picks woman as presidential candidate February 6, 2012 -- Updated 1006 GMT (1806 HKT) Josefina Vazquez Mota will compete in the July 1 election Her challenger sends a tweet congratulating her The president has been mired in a controversial war on drug cartels (CNN) -- Mexico's ruling National Action Party has picked a former congresswoman as its presidential candidate. If she wins, she will become the country's first female president. Josefina Vazquez Mota will now compete in the July 1 presidential election where she faces a formidable challenger in former Mexico State Gov. Enrique Pena Nieto. Pena Nieto represents the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled Mexico for seven decades before it was unseated by the National Action Party, or PAN. Congratulations and welcome to the democratic contest @JosefinaVM. Be it for the good of Mexico," Pena Nieto said in a tweet directed at Vazquez Mota after her party selected her on Sunday. The elections will be an indicator of the political winds in Mexico. President Felipe Calderon, who narrowly won the presidency in a disputed vote in 2006, has been mired in a controversial war on drug cartels in which more than 22,000 people have been killed since he came into office. By law, he cannot run again. The Mexican economy also has faltered due to the global economic downturn.