Xochitl Galvez

Mexican Senator Xochitl Galvez asks supporters to sign a petition to allow her to run in the PAN party presidential primaries.

Mexico is ramping up for its presidential elections next year, and the country’s political parties are beginning to select primary contenders. One opposition challenger is gaining attention.

Next year, Mexico will elect the person who will replace President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who cannot run again after completing his six-year term.

Because of his popularity, it’s widely expected that the candidate for his MORENA party will be the election front-runner.

But as the primaries take shape, Sen. Xochitl Galvez of the conservative PAN party is also rapidly gaining public support.

Speaking at an event announcing her aspirations, and petitioning for the signatures necessary to become a candidate for the PAN primaries, Galvez said Mexicans want politicians who can tackle the big issues, like climate change and poverty.

She’s taken aim at López Obrador and leveraged her humble beginnings and Indigenous roots to position herself as the candidate most in touch with the needs of ordinary Mexicans — one of López Obrador's longstanding claims.