A businesswoman and opposition senator with Indigenous roots, Xochitl Galvez has jolted Mexican politics in a bid to replace Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Galvez’s decision to run for the top job has raised the chances of a woman taking the reins of the Latin American country for the first time next year.
The 60-year-old computer engineer and technology company owner, who as a child sold candy to help her family, is seen by many as the opposition’s best hope of defeating the ruling party.
Photo: Reuters
Galvez’s first name means “flower” in the Nahuatl language and her background sets her apart from the traditional conservative opposition, which Lopez Obrador frequently lambasts as out of touch with other Mexicans.
Lopez Obrador “has been very successful in creating [the image of] an elitist, racist, white, oligarchic opposition,” political analyst Paula Sofia Vazquez said. “Xochitl’s profile deprives them of that narrative.”
Lopez Obrador has an average approval rating of 68 percent, largely thanks to his measures aimed at helping disadvantaged Mexicans.
While he is required by the constitution to step down after a single six-year term, his enduring popularity means his Morena party is seen as likely to win election in June next year.
Galvez aims to throw the race wide open, although she must first be selected to represent the Broad Front for Mexico, made up of three opposition parties.
Her main rival within the coalition is Mexican lawmaker Santiago Creel.
Galvez has already crossed swords with Lopez Obrador, accusing him of machismo after he branded her the “candidate of the power mafia” — a reference to the opposition.
“Machos like you are afraid of an independent and intelligent woman,” Galvez said in a video message directed at Lopez Obrador. “In my life no one has given me anything. And from you, I only want one thing: that you respect me.”
If selected by the opposition, the senator from the National Action Party could go head-to-head with Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old scientist by training who is the favorite to represent the ruling party.
That would mean an unprecedented all-female battle between the two main political camps.
“This Mexico does not want to talk about left or right,” said Galvez, who arrived by bicycle to register as a pre-candidate. “Right now, Mexico wants us to solve the serious problems. And if you are looking for an engineer to solve problems, here I am.”
Born to an indigenous Otomi father and mixed-race mother in the central state of Hidalgo, Galvez wears indigenous clothing and speaks plainly with a sprinkling of combative humor.
Galvez, who once went to Congress dressed as a dinosaur to criticize the government, formerly headed a foundation to support indigenous children and women.
In 1999 she was named one of the 100 leaders of the future by the World Economic Forum.
Galvez’s political career began in 2000 when then- Mexican president Vicente Fox entrusted her with policy for indigenous people.
From 2015 to 2018, she was mayor of one of the districts of Mexico City, before winning a seat in the upper house of Congress.
“I follow my own convictions... Nobody controls me — not even my husband,” she said.
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