Who are Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez, the two candidates to become the first president of Mexico

Continuity of projects of the so-called “Fourth Transformation” of the current Mexican government in the face of the break with the policies and approaches of the president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The two chosen as aspirants of the main political parties to achieve the presidency of Mexico in the June 2024 elections they exhibit proposals that are clearly opposed in some aspects.

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On the one hand, it is about the until recently head of government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, who will be the candidate of the ruling block of Morena, the Labor Party and the Green Party; and she is considered the current president’s favorite to succeed her.

On the other, Senator Xochitl Galvezuntil recently practically unknown who achieved against all odds the support of the parties that make up the coalition Broad Front for Mexico –formed by the traditional parties PAN, PRI and PRD– after five years of an almost non-existent and fragmented opposition.

What both do agree on is that either of them can reach an unprecedented milestone for the country.

“This competition is historic because there has never been a female president in Mexico,” says the political analyst Palmyra Tapia.

“And from that very symbolic fact, we could expect a different way of governing based on the fact that being a woman does make a difference in terms of priorities for the country,” she adds.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador will finish his term in 2024. (GETTY IMAGES).

“Both had to face and defeat a system made by and for men. The fact that two women have made their way in this contact sport as rude as Mexican politics is has great merit that must be valued ”, agrees the expert in political communication Luis Antonio Espino.

There may still be news regarding the electoral race for next year. After knowing the appointment of Sheinbaum this Wednesday, the former foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard As his main competitor, he asked that the survey carried out for his election be repeated in the face of alleged irregularities detected by his team.

“The result is definitive. No eventuality could have a definitive impact on the final result,” he stressed. Alfonso Durazo, President of the National Council of Morena, when presenting the support obtained by each applicant.

We must also remain attentive to what the Citizen Movement decides, a formation that governs in two of the states with the strongest economies in the country.

Although several of its leaders publicly bet on going to the elections together with the Broad Front for Mexico, the party coordinator assured that they will compete alone with a candidate that will be announced in December.

But who are they and what do the two candidates to become the first president of Mexico propose?

Sheinbaum, AMLO’s favorite

Claudia Sheinbaum marked a milestone by being the first woman elected as head of government of Mexico City. (GETTY IMAGES).

Claudia Sheinbaum was born 61 years ago in Mexico City. She has a technical profile with a degree in Physics and a master’s and doctorate in Engineering.

For Espino, “it is a paradox that the candidate to succeed a mass social leader such as López Obrador be a technocrat which is precisely what populism rejects”.

His first position in politics came precisely hand in hand with the current Mexican president, when he was head of government of the capital for the PRD and she served as Secretary of the Environment since 2000.

Since then she became one of his closest allies and accompanied him in each of his attempts to reach the presidency of the country. Sheinbaum was an active part of the formation of Morena in 2014, and only a year later she became head of the Tlalpan delegation in the country’s capital as a representative of that party.

For some analysts, Claudia Sheinbaum’s challenge will be to be able to connect with the electorate. (GETTY IMAGES).

In 2018 it marked a milestone by being the first woman elected as head of government of Mexico City. One of his strengths in this position was precisely his technical knowledge that he was able to apply to public policies, social and educational programs.

However, one of the biggest controversies it faced was probably the accusations of lack of maintenance of the metro after a section of line 12 collapsed in 2021, killing 26 people.

In June, Sheinbaum stepped down from this post to focus on his presidential bid.

be considered as López Obrador’s favorite It is one of her main advantages among the most loyal voters of Morena, but it also earned her criticism from those who accuse her of not having her own identity or ever questioning any result of the current Mexican government.

“One of her mottos, ‘Continuity with her own stamp,’ is a totally contradictory phrase” that was only trying to break that impression of her, Espino says in a conversation with BBC Mundo.

Those responsible for her campaign tried to counteract her serious image and something distant from the population with more appearances on social networks, where she has been seen smiling doing TikToks or playing the guitar.

Gálvez, the surprise of the opposition

Xóchitl Gálvez has a less traditional profile than other leaders in her political space. (GETTY IMAGES).

Xóchitl Gálvez was born 60 years ago in a small town in the state of Hidalgo. He has always emphasized his indigenous and humble origins —he said that he sold jellies while he was studying in high school—, which have been questioned by opponents and some old acquaintances.

An engineer by training, she created several companies in the sector for which she received various awards, as well as a foundation that supports indigenous communities with high rates of malnutrition and scarce economic resources.

He entered politics in 2003 at the hands of former PAN president Vicente Fox and was appointed director of the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples. She tried to run for governor of her native Hidalgo in 2010, but came in second at the head of the PAN-PRD coalition.

Five years later, she did manage to be elected head of the Miguel Hidalgo delegation in Mexico City, and since 2018 she has been a senator for the PAN.

Despite his resume, his name was almost unknown to the vast majority of Mexicans until just two months ago. In June, she achieved media attention when she tried to intervene —unsuccessfully— in the morning conference of President López Obrador, who had accused her of wanting to suppress social programs. She flatly denied it.

The popularity of Xóchitl Gálvez has grown in recent months. (GETTY IMAGES).

Since then his popularity grew like foam until he stood out in the opposition bloc with a much less conservative discourse than most of those who were its internal competitors.

Gálvez has been seen from riding a bicycle to addressing his followers with a fresh tone full of self-confidence with which he wanted to convey greater authenticity.

“I would say that he has an ‘all terrain’ ability to communicate. He knows how to prepare himself in technical aspects when he has to talk about a serious topic. But when you have to communicate with people, without being superficial, she becomes cute and happy saying things as he feels and with a language that connects with people”, reflects the consultant Espino.

This strategy of showing a much less traditional profile than that of other PAN-PRI-PRD personalities was evident when, at the celebration of her official appointment last week, Gálvez appeared accompanied by people as diverse as a searching mother, an enterprising woman and a representative of indigenous communities.

Analysts believe that this broader and more inclusive discourse responds to the simple fact that the ‘hard voter’ of your political coalition is going to support you anyway, in order for there to be a change of government. But that would not be enough for him to win, so he must direct his efforts to also attract people who are undecided or disenchanted with the six-year term of López Obrador.

Tapia believes that “the curious thing with Gálvez is that he is competing with a proposal very similar to the one that made López Obrador successful in advocating for the poor, social policies, against corruption… although somewhat sweeter, so that it is also accepted by those economic sectors that disapprove of the president’s policies”.

However, “we could foresee the return of some policies more in line with the neoliberal model that have been tried in the country. I am still not so sure of how far she will want to reverse the way in which Mexico has been governed, “adds the political scientist in an interview with BBC Mundo.

What will their confrontation be like?

Both women will find themselves facing the great challenge of insecurity in Mexico. (GETTY IMAGES).

The truth is that it is still early to know what will specifically differentiate the electoral proposals of each one of them. But, based on their profile so far, experts are already identifying challenges that they will have to face in order to stand out from their competitors.

“Sheinbaum’s challenge is without a doubt to connect, because he is not a person who is close or has charisma. And, above all, communicate what is the stamp that she would put on her government so as not to be seen only as an extension of López Obrador or someone who is being controlled by him, ”says Espino.

Faced with the challenges of closeness and autonomy of the former head of government of Mexico City, Gálvez will have to work to achieve differentiation from other names in the opposition and greater unity among diverse groups.

“His challenge is to reach a public that viscerally rejects the opposition parties and convince them that he is different. And on the other hand, it must continue working to bring together and be attractive to very diverse groups in society that are sometimes even at odds with each other: businessmen, indigenous peoples, women, people with a traditional profile, young progressives…”, adds the expert.

Also there are great expectations to see what their positions will be regarding gender policies in a country where there are ten femicides a day and where the latest initiatives have failed to eradicate the violence against women that is bleeding Mexico dry.

“Although Sheinbaum – which is the one we have seen in a government position until recently – does not champion an openly feminist policy, there have been important advances in the capital and, beyond speeches, that is what is important,” says Tapia.

“In this sense, the competition between two women for the presidency is a very powerful message, especially for the new generations. There’s no doubt”, concludes.

Source: Elcomercio