MEXICO CITY: Opposition coalition in Mexico Wednesday named Xochitl Galvez, an outspoken senator with Indigenous roots, as its candidate for next year’s election. She hopes to be the country’s first woman president.
Her nomination increases the possibility of an all-woman contest for the presidency — between Galvez and former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, seen as the favourite to represent the ruling party in June 2024.
The 60-year-old computer engineer and self-made businesswoman, Galvez secured the support of the opposition parties after an internal contest decided by public opinion polling.
“We have made the decision to support the sole candidacy of Xochitl Galvez to head the Broad Front for Mexico,” leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Alejandro Moreno said. PRI is one of the three parties in the opposition bloc.
Galvez, who was supported by the conservative National Action Party (PAN), edged out another woman senator, Beatriz Paredes of the PRI. Galvez has repeatedly crossed swords with outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a self-styled champion of the underprivileged.
Galvez says as a child she sold candy to help her family. “Nobody controls me — not even my husband,” she says to underline her independence. —AFP/APP
