Will Mexico get a female president? Meet businesswoman-turned-Senator Xochitl Galvez

A street-food salesgirl who became a tech entrepreneur and senator, Xochitl Galvez is giving a tough contest to Mexico’s popular president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his dominant ruling party.The 60-year-old on Wednesday effectively secured the main Opposition candidacy for next year's presidential election after picking up the endorsement of a key party, which dumped its own contender."This is just beginning," Galvez said on X (formerly Twitter) as the Opposition released survey results showing her polling more support than her Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) rival. "Nobody will stop us."Also read: World’s second-deepest blue hole found in Mexico: What is this undersea sinkhole and why is it so mysterious?A step closer to becoming the first woman presidentGalvez's success moves Mexico a step closer to the prospect of a first woman president since recent polls indicate that President Lopez Obrador's dominant ruling party is likely to choose a female candidate to succeed him.The computer engineer and technology company owner, who as a child sold candy to help her family is seen by many analysts as best placed to challenge Lopez Obrador's leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA). Her victory came after the head of the PRI, Mexico's former rulers, said the PRI would back her instead of its own hopeful, Beatriz Paredes.[caption id="attachment_13062972" align="alignnone" width="640"] Former Mexican Senator Xochitl Galvez speaks to people during a private event as she pursues for the Frente Amplio por Mexico Opposition alliance's candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, in Mexico City. Reuters[/caption]Even yet, the way PRI abandoned Paredes dimmed the lustre of what had seemed to be Galvez's imminent win, which had been endorsed by voters, as the contest for the Opposition alliance's presidential ticket was set to come down to a vote on Sunday.PRI Chairman Alejandro Moreno, while being surrounded by sombre-looking party members, announced at a news conference that his party was now totally behind Galvez as a result of the polling findings. Senator Paredes, a former PRI leader, was notably absent.Even some of Galvez's allies stated that the PRI's involvement in the election would not likely increase public trust in the electoral process."The best way of choosing the candidate is to let the voters decide," said Fernando Belaunzaran, a former federal congressman for the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), the president's previous outfit, now in the Opposition alliance.Also read: Mexico City: Armed men shoot Indian-origin finance director seven times after robbing himEnergised OppositionA spirited, shrewd communicator with an irreverent sense of humour, Galvez represents the centre-right National Action Party (PAN), a longtime rival, now ally, of the centrist PRI. The PRD had previously said it was backing Galvez.She is widely viewed as the contender who could do most to weaken the iron hold MORENA has on national politics, which has consigned the PRI, PAN and PRD to a string of heavy defeats.[caption id="attachment_13062992" align="alignnone" width="640"] Former Mexican Senator Xochitl Galvez talks with women at a park before attends a private event as she pursues for the Frente Amplio por Mexico Opposition alliance's candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. Reuters[/caption]Expressing support for business even as Lopez Obrador has railed against corporate greed, Galvez, 60, boasts an appeal that can cut across class divides. Like the president, she also connects with poorer Mexicans better than many of her peers.Since entering the race in June, Galvez has energized the Opposition. Some supporters have broadcast an AI version of Galvez, a trained computer engineer, to back her. Lopez Obrador has sought to cast her as a tool of corrupt, rich elites.Renowned for her ebullience and adept at creating publicity, Galvez has crafted her pitch as one of triumph over adversity, describing how she became a successful entrepreneur after growing up in an impoverished family with indigenous roots.In 2021, Galvez described her political origins as Marxist and Trotskyist, and argues she is less privileged than MORENA's leading presidential contenders, former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum and a former foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard.MORENA is due to announce its candidate on Sept. 6 after national polling. Sheinbaum has led recent voter surveys, feeding expectations that she could face off against Galvez.The president's popularity has been a mainstay of support for MORENA, consistently polling close to or above 60 per cent. Under Mexican law, presidents can only serve a single six-year term.Next year’s election is López Obrador’s chance to show if he has built a political movement that can outlast his charismatic leadership. According to The Associated Press, whoever his successor is, they will have to tackle persistently high levels of violence, heavily armed drug cartels and migration across the nearly 2,000-mile border with the United States.Also read: Why are so many US citizens travelling to Mexico for medical care? What are the dangers involved?With inputs from Reuters