“What is at stake in our country is freedom”

(CNN Spanish) — Xóchitl Gálvez, the candidate of the opposition coalition Frente Amplio por México for the presidential election in 2024, believes that the United States should work “jointly” to solve the migration problem, and believes that a change of power is necessary in Mexico. Defending the separation of powers and accusing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of not fulfilling many of his promises.

“What is at stake in our country is freedom. What is at stake is democracy,” he said in a face-to-face interview with CNN’s Juan Carlos Lopez, criticizing Lopez Obrador’s handling of the matter.

The licensed senator says the advantage of having a female president — her main rival in the race is Claudia Schönbaum of the ruling Morena party — is the priority given to women’s rights in a country plagued by femicide and gaps. Historical gender

The opposition candidate also said that she is “not going to negotiate with dictatorial governments, I’m not going to invite the Venezuelan government to parade its army in Mexico, and I’m not going to invite dictator Díaz-Canel to give his independence speech.”

Migration, the central theme

Xóchitl Gálvez, a licensed senator from the PAN, known by her supporters as an unfiltered politician, toured the United States with visits to New York and Washington, where she said she spoke with Mexicans living in that country. Scenarios of undocumented people sending remittances, the undocumented seeking legalization and those needing immigration reform “do not seem close because there is tremendous polarization on this issue.”

Gálvez says that “immigration is the main issue that is discussed in the United States” and says that there are ways to solve it, “but we have to work on it together.”

“There is anger against permanent migrants, they see them as a problem. Right now in Mexico there are also migrants who cross the national territory, people are upset that they are on the streets, that they don’t have jobs,” he said.

For Xóchitl Gálvez, one of the promises that President López Obrador “failed to keep” is that “he was going to serve immigrants here in the United States, that he was going to provide them with dozens of lawyers to solve their immigration issues.”

Gálvez says that if he comes to power, he will negotiate with the United States government, fight human trafficking and work to strengthen security along Mexico’s southern border. “There are gangs that are dedicated to human trafficking south of the border, which we have to pay attention to, put resources into and avoid having such a dull border between Mexico and Guatemala.”

“We have to work so that, in exchange for Mexico being a safe third country, what happens to the 11 million Mexicans on this side of the border? That is, at least unlike Andres Manuel (López Obrador), I will put it on the table to finish.”

“Apparently we don’t realize that the migration issue is related to the expulsion of people to unsafe areas,” he says. “Michoacán has a tremendous level of violence. Sinaloa, Chiapas, now Tabasco and that obviously will generate a large migration flow from the United States who cannot stay in Mexico. Some Central Americans who have documents to be in Mexico. Humanitarian support,” he said. Criminal gangs facing kidnappings want to leave Mexico quickly, human traffickers who pose a threat to them in some way.”

Galvez has proposed benefits for migrants in Mexico: “Whether it’s a work visa, whether it’s support to regularize their immigration situation and I think it will be a win-win for us as well.”

“Who wants to live in Mexico to work? Who can have a labor certificate? Mexico also needs labor. Mexico doesn’t have enough labor.”

“So those two issues have an agenda, but somehow we can talk about economic growth in Mexico and that will stop the migration flow.”

Mexico’s relationship with the United States through the lens of Xóchitl Gálvez

If he becomes Mexico’s president, Xóchitl Gálvez could have Donald Trump as his counterpart in the United States, the former president who attacked Mexicans and immigrants in his previous campaign, saying Mexico does not send “the best” to the United States. Now he talks about immigrants poisoning the blood of the United States.

“We already know Donald Trump, we already know what his rhetoric is and we also know that in the end he attacked a lot on the free trade agreement with Mexico, but he signed the treaty,” says Galvez. That at the end of the day “he has to look after the interests of US companies” and build only a “small piece” of the border wall. “Both Biden and Trump,” she says, “are going to find a partner with me, a woman who knows how to solve problems, an engineer who is committed to solving problems.”

For him, “deaths of youth on both sides of the border” is a problem to be solved. Fentanyl trafficking is one aspect of this problem.

“I proposed the idea to a group of experts who sent me the idea of ​​creating a binational customs agency, so that both countries have authorized certifying agents, working together to prevent fentanyl from entering the United States, but “we prevent weapons from entering Mexico. and we can custom order. It’s a different idea from what we’ve experienced today.”

Criticism of AMLO and his government

Galvez says Mexico has “corrupt and authoritarian” officials who want to stay in power. “The legislative changes the president wants to make to the Supreme Court of Justice and the legislative branch are to try to last at least 20 years,” he says. “And that’s what’s at stake.”

“What is at stake in our country is freedom. What is at stake is democracy. What is at stake is the separation of powers, not just economic and security issues. So much is at stake. It is our chance to be free and democratic. the country

“My impression is that AMLO is blackmailing Biden’s administration in Washington by saying, ‘Hey, well, if you mess with me and point out that the free trade agreement on the energy issue is violent, or point out that I have extremely There are undemocratic processes. The election is fine, I will let you migrants pass.’ So they’re like playing there, especially with President López Obrador of the United States.”

In connection with a complaint by the independent media ProPublica that DEA agents discovered that US$2 million had been funneled into Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s campaign in 2006—which AMLO denied and called a conspiracy against him—Gálvez sought to sue the president. For defamation in the United States: “If he is convinced that this is false, he should file a lawsuit to clear his name and to clear the name of Mexico. It is not enough for him to leave the morning conference and say that it is false.”

“President Andres Manuel is obligated to clear his name and I will insist that he does so.”