Mexican presidential candidates exchange views and criticisms in the first debate

Mexican voters measured their presidential candidates in an intense first debate, in which the two main candidates committed to making history as the first female president of the Latin American nation.

In the inaugural televised debate on Sunday night, prior to the June elections, the standard bearer of the ruling party, Claudia Sheinbaum, highlighted her experience and successes as former mayor of the Mexican capital, while the main opposition candidate and former senator Xóchitl Gálvez touted her humble origins and mocked the erudite Sheinbaum as an “ice lady” who lacks charisma.

Both hope to succeed the popular outgoing president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, founder of the leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena).

“The people of Mexico want us to continue moving forward with the transformation,” said Sheinbaum, 61, referring to how López Obrador has described his mission for years.

The scientist argued that Mexico is “flourishing” with robust economic growth thanks in part to repeated increases in the minimum wage.

He also evoked López Obrador's skepticism about companies that maximize their profits, criticizing services provided through private companies such as prone to corruption.

Gálvez, also 61, argued that he can relate better to ordinary Mexicans because of his humble upbringing. He also embraced high-tech solutions, including blockchain-protected cards for subsidized medicines, as well as his support for robotics, artificial intelligence and helping young people learn English.

His attacks on Sheinbaum often became personal.

“You're not AMLO. You don't even have his charisma,” he said at one point, using the outgoing president's acronym. “You are a cold and heartless woman,” said the candidate for an opposition coalition of traditional parties that dominated the country's political scene for decades.

After Gálvez claimed that the family of Sheinbaum, who would also be the first person of Jewish descent to preside over Mexico, had assets in tax havens, Sheinbaum responded that how can you believe a lying and corrupt person.

For months, Sheinbaum has maintained a commanding lead in polls ahead of the June 2 vote, although public opinion polls in Mexico in recent elections have a mixed record for accuracy.

A third candidate also shared the stage Sunday, Jorge Álvarez Maynez, a 38-year-old former state legislator from the centrist Citizen Movement party.

While he insisted he was not part of Mexico's discredited “old politics” and presented a new third option for dissatisfied voters, he was often overshadowed by his better-known rivals.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.