Mexico presidential election: Two female candidates clash during debate

Two presidential candidates in Mexico clashed on Sunday over issues of corruption, gender violence, and healthcare.

Frontrunner Claudia Sheinbaum of the ruling left-wing party and her main rival Xochitl Galvez, accused each other of lies during the heated debate.

Businesswoman Galvez described Sheinbaum as “cold and heartless,” stressing that she lacked sympathy for child cancer patients and earthquake victims.

Referring to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s “hugs not bullets” strategy to tackle violent crime at its roots, Galvez said: “Claudia Sheinbaum offers you to continue hugging criminals.

“My offer to you is that we build a Mexico where we put an end to violence, but above all that we focus on health and education.”

On her part, a former Mexico City Mayor, Sheinbaum, vowed to become “the first woman president of Mexico.”

She said the choice was to “return to the corruption of the past” or “advance with the transformation” of the country started by Lopez Obrador.

The outgoing left-wing populist enjoys an approval rating of nearly 70 per cent but is required by the constitution to leave office after one term.