X贸chitl G谩lvez: Mexican opposition pick female election candidate

Image source, EPA

Image caption, X贸chitl G谩lvez is often seen cycling around Mexico City
  • Author, George Wright
  • Role, 91热爆 News

Mexico's opposition coalition has named an outspoken female senator with indigenous roots as their candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

X贸chitl G谩lvez is a 60-year-old computer engineer and businesswoman.

Her nomination raises the prospect of Mexico having a female president for the first time.

Former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum is considered the frontrunner for leftist President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador's Morena party.

Ms G谩lvez is backed by a three-party coalition including the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which dominated the country's politics until 2000.

Growing up poor as a child, she helped her family sell street food in the central state of Hidalgo.

Her father - an indigenous Otomi schoolteacher - was an abusive alcoholic, Ms G谩lvez says,

She moved to Mexico City, receiving a scholarship to study computer science. Upon graduation she launched a lucrative tech company that went on to secure government contracts.

Ms G谩lvez wears indigenous clothing, uses colloquial language and is often seen cycling around Mexico City. She is seen as having a quick wit and down-to-earth demeanour that proves popular with many working class and young Mexicans.

However, she faces a tough task going up against the party of President L贸pez Obrador, who enjoys an approval rating of more than 60% but cannot stand next year because he is serving a maximum six-year term.

Ms G谩lvez has repeatedly clashed with the president over issues including the high levels of violence in Mexico, stating that "ovaries are needed" to confront organised crime. He has accused her of being the candidate of the rich, the "oligarchs" and "conservatives".

An all-female face-off between Ms G谩lvez and Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is looking increasingly likely. Ms Sheinbaum's main internal rival is former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard.

Ms G谩lvez says she is not fazed by either of her potential rivals. "They're there because they want to continue doing the same as the president," she told AP. "They don't have their own identity."

Mexicans are due to pick their new president in June.

Image source, Reuters

Image caption, Claudia Sheinbaum is considered the frontrunner for President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador's Morena party