Xóchitl Makes The Scene
Mexico continues to put its progressive foot forward
Back in May, I wrote about Mexico's dominant Morena political party, and the fact that for the 2024 presidential election, Morena's Claudia Sheinbaum looks to be the favorite candidate:
In that article, I talked about how women have been winning elections all across Mexico, and for all sorts of offices, and I talked about how Sheinbaum appears to be the candidate to beat in the upcoming election.
Introducing the woman who might beat her
When I wrote that article, Xóchitl Gálvez had not yet announced that she would be running for the office of the president; she made that announcement in late June, an announcement that gave Mexico's opposition parties an actual hope of countering the dominance of Morena.
Who is Xóchitl Gálvez?
Born in 1963 to parents of indigenous Nahuatl descent, Gálvez's (whose first name Xóchitl means "flower" in the Nahuatl language) early life was not one of privilege and means, unlike her Morena counterparts. Her father was a violent alcoholic, and her mother took in laundry to make ends meet. Despite her father's abusive behavior, her mother persevered and encouraged Xóchitl to rise beyond her family's humble position. Gálvez studied hard and went on to college, graduating with a degree in computer engineering. She went on to found two technology companies before getting into politics, first as the head of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples under the administration of Vicente Fox from 2000 to 2006.
In 2015, she ran for and won the office of mayor for the Mexico City municipality of Miguel Hidalgo. In 2018, she ran for federal senator, representing Mexico City, a senate seat that she won and holds today.
Despite her alignment with the conservative PAN (Partido Acción Nacional, or National Action Party), Gálvez's record stands out as progressive - even liberal - within that conservative context: she is a defender of LGBTQ rights, abortion, social welfare programs, and indigenous rights.
Gálvez dresses in indigenous clothing. She speaks directly and plainly, and adds in a fair amount of humor. She is seen as dynamic, friendly, approachable, and of the people. When she announced her candidacy for the presidency just outside the office building of Mexico's current president, she arrived on a bicycle.
Disturbing the AMLO rhetoric
One of current president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's (AMLO) favorite tactics is to paint the opposition parties as elitist and out-of-touch with the people of Mexico. This is proving to be an unfortunate rhetorical choice with the advent of Gálvez's candidacy: Gálvez's roots, together with her unimpeachable record of fighting for the rights of the disadvantaged, completely neuters AMLO's favorite characterization. So instead, he has recently been trying to accuse her of improper business practices, a portrait that is completely at odds with Gálvez's career - one that has been, rather remarkably, completely untainted by corruption.
AMLO's almost daily attacks on Gálvez are beginning to smack of desperation. Many observers believe that AMLO's obsession with Gálvez is playing right into her hands - his attacks, rather than diminishing her standing, are actually elevating her. He is making her a household name. Referring to AMLO's unrelenting focus on her, Gálvez recently quipped on Twitter that he must have a crush on her.
A thorn in her side
In the #EsClaudia article I linked to at the beginning of this article, I wrote that Claudia Sheinbaum's association with AMLO is a double-edged sword. Unfortunately, Xóchitl Gálvez has her own associations with Mexican male politicians that aren't doing her any favors. For Gálvez, an obstacle to be overcome will be her former association with Vincente Fox, former president of Mexico and one time granddaddy of the PAN party. Recently, the 81 year-old went on a xenophobic rant about Jews (in reference to Sheinbaum), the French (in reference to another Morena candidate, Marcelo Ebrard) and Mexico's unemployed (whom he described as lazy). Gálvez quickly condemned Fox's remarks, but she may have to find a way to further disassociate herself from him, a challenging task given that Fox is one of her staunchest supporters.
It ain’t over ‘till it’s over
The 2024 presidential election is still nearly a year away, and anything can happen. Gálvez has a lot of momentum right now, and she knows how to make headlines. But she needs to prove that she can build an effective campaign team, and effective political alliances (that don't shoot her in the foot). And that she can maintain her early momentum. None of that is a given.
But for now, she has certainly made the election a lot more interesting. A race for the presidency of Mexico fronted by two women is a momentous break with the traditional political machismo in Mexico. It is really an amazing testament to Mexico's social progress, and a shining example for the rest of the world.
Oh, and I should probably mention that there are in fact some guys running for the presidency too. 🥱.
Sometimes I wonder why politicians must attempt to denigrate their opponents, like AMLO is doing, but then the coffee kicks in and I remember which century I live in, and how simply having different ideas isn't enough. Us vs. Them. Elitist vs. Person of the people. Or the pope.
Say what?, don't ask me. Soy Ranchero, says Will Ferrell and I always laugh. If this comment doesn't make sense, it will self destruct in 15 seconds unless John McCain comes back to remind us how he, despite having different ideas than his opponent, told a (shall I say deranged?) supporter that NO, Obama was not a secret Muslim sleeper agitator out to destroy the country from within, but rather a decent man with different policy ideas. And even though I didn't agree with McCain's proposed direction, I certainly admired his dignity and grace.
Very fun to read about Mexican politics. We don't hear much in the US news, well don't hear anything really (at least the news I watch which is mostly local!). I am uplifted that a country with a reputation of being male dominated and corrupt is making such big leaps forward in women leadership and supporting underrepresented groups. I still have many of my well educated friends afraid of Mexico. Scared to go there because of all they hear on the news. This is such a different view.