MEXICO CITY, May 20, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Tens of thousands of supporters of
opposition presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez massed in Mexico City on
Sunday, two weeks before elections expected to produce the country's first
woman president.

Voters face a choice on June 2 between "oppression or freedom," Galvez said
in front of the national palace where outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador lives and works.

"I'm fighting a battle to defend three fundamental values: life, truth and
liberty," the 61-year-old businesswoman and senator told the crowd.

According to local authorities, an estimated 95,000 people joined the rally,
turning Mexico City's main square into a sea of pink.

Despite the big show of support, Galvez is lagging well behind the ruling
party candidate, former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, in public
opinion surveys.

According to an average of polls compiled by the firm Oraculus, Sheinbaum has
56 percent of voter support, while Galvez is in second place with 34 percent.

A third candidate, Jorge Alvarez Maynez of the Citizens' Movement party, has
10 percent.

Lopez Obrador's opponents accuse him of an authoritarian tilt and of seeking
to undermine Mexico's democratic institutions with attempts to reform the
justice system.

One of the proposals is for Supreme Court judges to be chosen by popular
vote.

"We all need to go out and vote... because if not we are really in serious
danger," said Adolfo Borduin, 62, who sees the reform plan as an effort by
the ruling party to consolidate its power.

Sara Valdovinos, another Galvez supporter, said it was time for a change in
the political direction of the Latin American nation.

"I want the best for Mexico. I want a free Mexico -- a Mexico without
dictatorship, a Mexico that doesn't repress its people," she said.