Xóchitl Gálvez starts campaign in Fresnillo, the most feared city in Mexico: “The hugs for criminals are over”

The opposition has chosen Fresnillo, the city with the highest perception of insecurity in Mexico, as the first stop for Xóchitl Gálvez, its presidential candidate.

“We are going to return peace and tranquility to the country,” said the candidate, in a rally that began after midnight, in the first minutes of this Friday.

“No more hugging criminals,” she added.

Gálvez's strategy has been clear at the start of the campaign: send a message to his rivals with the first political act of the race, put the fight against crime at the top of his list of priorities and convince voters that it is the only option that can confront Claudia Sheinbaum, the official standard-bearer and the leader in most polls.

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Gálvez stood in the center of Fresnillo - where more than 96% of the inhabitants feel unsafe, according to official data - to present herself as the candidate who is not afraid, who is going to set the pace of the race and who is going to challenge the hegemony of the political project of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“This long night of violence is going to end because we are going to confront crime,” he said earlier this week to explain the decision to start in the State of Zacatecas, the epicenter of the insecurity that plagues the country and where two murders of politicians have marked the first months of the year.

THE START OF THE ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN, LIVE

Morena's followers fill the Zócalo waiting for Claudia Sheinbaum

“From here I want to send a message of hope,” he said upon his arrival in the city, after holding a private meeting with victims of violence.

The candidate presented a five-point plan against crime, which highlights the proposals to double the number of National Guard agents to reach 300,000 troops and withdraw the Army from the civil tasks entrusted in the López Obrador Government.

“To the civilians what belongs to the civilians, to the military what belongs to the military,” she said.

She also proposed that Mexico and the United States assume joint control of customs, strengthen state and municipal governments, and improve the salary and social security conditions of the police in the country.

“Morena defends the sovereignty of the cartels.

“I defend the sovereignty of Mexicans,” she said about her strategy.

“Morena is a narco and fear.

We are going to win,” she added.

The standard-bearer of the Fuerza y ​​Corazón por México coalition - made up of the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) - opted for an inaugural event lasting just over an hour of duration, with a strong symbolic load and in which he sacrificed the multitudinous support of his supporters.

The candidate gave the microphone in the first minutes to the search mother Leticia Castañeda, she asked for a minute of silence “for all the people murdered in the country” and she raised her right fist before starting to speak.

The candidate, during her speech on the esplanade of the Municipal Palace in Fresnillo. Gladys Serrano

At the rally, the 61-year-old former senator redoubled her criticism of López Obrador's security policy, known colloquially as “hugs, not bullets,” and insisted that the election is not yet defined, regardless of what they say. the polls and how uphill the race seems.

“In the face of this pain, in the face of this death, what does Claudia Sheinbaum tell us?

That Mexico is better than ever,” said Gálvez.

“They want us to get used to barbarism,” she added, “a Mexico without fear is possible.”

Challenging the narrative that Sheinbaum is the great favorite to become the first president in the history of Mexico will be the main challenge of her campaign, as well as agglomerating discontent with the current Administration and demonstrating to voters that she has an alternative project. to the so-called Fourth Transformation, headed by Morena, the ruling party.

Gálvez's campaign kickoff event began with a walk of about a kilometer until he reached the city's main square, in front of the municipal palace.

A caravan of supporters lit candles to send a message against crime and carried cardboard banners to show their support.

“We have to support what we believe is best for the country,” says Esperanza Aguirre, 58, who admits that she has not left her house at night for more than a decade.

“It is anguish, when we leave, we don't know if we are going to return,” she adds.

Gálvez was greeted with shouts of “Xóchitl president!”

of her followers and a batucada.

“It is a historic fact for us, she shows that she has faith in Fresnillo,” agrees María Isabel García, 65 years old.

“We want a change, we do not agree with the current Government,” says Pedro, a 35-year-old miner, who asks that his last name not be revealed.

Although it is practically impossible not to hear “Fresnillo” and “insecurity” in the same sentence, thousands of people went out of their way to show that the city is more than fear, that it has its own identity and desires, that it wants peace.

It was a battle cry, but also one of exhaustion and catharsis.

The candidate led the contingent silently and with a serious face, although she also tried to be empathetic and close to her followers.

The streets around the column of people remained deserted, a reminder of the size of the problem.

Fear is a reality that is palpable in Fresnillo and that goes beyond any political discourse.

The arrival of Gálvez, under the motto

For a Mexico without fear

, has led to the deployment of a strong security device and a greater presence of the State Police, the Army and the National Guard.

None of the three national leaders of the political institutes that nominated her were present.

His campaign manager, Santiago Creel, and his office manager, Kenia López Rabadán, were in the delegation, as well as local and federal deputies, opposition mayors and state representatives of the PRI, the PAN and the PRD.

Supporters of Xóchitl Gálvez took to the streets to show their support.Gladys Serrano

It will not be until this Friday afternoon when Gálvez tries to compete for the media spotlight with Sheinbaum, who chose the Zócalo in Mexico City to launch his campaign.

The opposition candidate will hold a massive rally at the Sergio León Chávez stadium in Irapuato, in the State of Guanajuato, another hotbed of violence and a historic bastion of the PAN, the most voted opposition force in the country.

Initially, the plan was to start the campaign in the capital, where the pre-campaign closed in mid-January and regained the momentum that seemed to have been lost in the first weeks after winning the opposition candidacy, before some 20,000 followers at the Mexico City Arena. .

The adjustment occurred two weeks ago, his team of collaborators told EL PAÍS, to have a calendar that covered the main cities of the country in the first days of the campaign, as well as the States where the opposition vote is strong.

Gálvez's agenda is marked by a frenetic start: after Fresnillo, the tour will continue with activities in Aguascalientes, another territory governed by Acción Nacional, and Irapuato, where the day is scheduled to close and around 25,000 people are expected.

The weekend will continue with activities in Guadalajara, Monterrey and the capital, the three most populated metropolitan areas in the country, in the first steps of a marathon race of almost 90 days until reaching the elections on June 2.

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