Mexico candidates offer little detail to address violence in debate

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MEXICO CITY, May 20, (AP): Less than two weeks from national elections, opposition presidential candidate Xóchitl Gálvez hit away on security, one of Mexico’s most stubborn challenges, in her final debate Sunday night with governing party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum.
Sheinbaum, the frontrunner in the race, defended the security record of her mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, while Gálvez accused the administration of playing nice with the country’s powerful drug cartels.
“What has been this administration’s strategy? Give the country to organized crime,” said Gálvez, a former senator and tech entrepreneur.
But Sheinbaum, a former Mexico City mayor and climate scientist, maintained the conservative strategy that she employed in two previous debates, not taking the bait when Gálvez attacked.
Gálvez promised to keep and strengthen the National Guard that López Obrador created, but also strengthen state and local police forces.
“Hugs for criminals are over,” she said in reference to López Obrador’s oft-repeated slogan, “Hugs, not bullets.”
She also promised to personally lead the meetings of the National Search Commission, which is supposed to help locate the 100,000 Mexicans listed as missing.
Both candidates said they would lean heavily on the National Guard, saying they would continue to expand it. In one potential difference, Gálvez said she wants it under civilian leadership. Earlier Sunday, tens of thousands of mostly opposition supporters protested against the president in the capital’s vast colonial-era main plaza.
The protesters carried signs saying “We are Mexicans,” referring to what they claim are attempts by López Obrador to divide the country.

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