In Mexico, two women could be the main contenders for a historic presidential election.
Right-wing Senator Xóchitl Gálvez is the sole opposition candidate for the 2024 Mexican presidential election.
She might face Claudia Sheinbaum, former mayor of Mexico City and ruling party frontrunner.
Alejandro Moreno, PRI national leader, announced support for Gálvez as the Broad Front for Mexico coalition head.
The coalition includes PAN and PRD. The announcement followed Senator Beatriz Paredes’ withdrawal after polls showed a decisive lead for Gálvez.
Gálvez, 60, thanked PAN and PRD leaders for their public support on social media.
PAN and PRD leadership encouraged Paredes, trailing in the polls, to step aside for Gálvez. Gálvez emphasized that the campaign was starting.
The confirmation of Gálvez as the opposition candidate sets the stage for a historic election.
If Sheinbaum secures her party’s nomination, it will be the first time two women are the main contenders on a Mexican ballot.
Gálvez, of Otomi descent, represents revitalizing a previously weakened and divided opposition.
Since announcing her candidacy in June, she has faced attacks from current left-wing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Sheinbaum, 61, is competing with former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and four other minor aspirants for the Morena party nomination to succeed President López Obrador.
The party is conducting a national survey to determine its candidate and will announce the results on September 6.
Ebrard criticized the survey process, accusing officials of favoring Sheinbaum.
The 2024 election, scheduled for June 2, will also involve renewing the entire bicameral Congress and the governorships of nine of 32 Mexican states.
Morena, a relatively new party, currently dominates both chambers of Congress and governs 23 of 32 Mexican states.