Ovaries needed to fight crime, Mexican presidential hopeful says

MEXICO CITY, Mexico — An outspoken opposition politician hoping to be Mexico's first female president said Wednesday that "ovaries are needed" to confront organized crime in the violence-wracked country.

Senator Xochitl Galvez's decision to seek the opposition nomination in the 2024 election has shaken up the race to replace outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

"Enough already! Ovaries are needed to punish those who break the law," Galvez wrote on Instagram, criticizing the security strategy of Lopez Obrador's government.

She said the leftwing populist's "hugs not bullets" strategy to tackle violent crime at its roots by fighting poverty and inequality had failed.

Born to an Indigenous Otomi father and a mixed-race mother, the 60-year-old businesswoman and senator is seen by many as the opposition's best hope of defeating Lopez Obrador's ruling Morena party.

If selected by the opposition, the senator from the conservative National Action Party (PAN) could go head-to-head with outgoing Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, who is the favorite to represent Morena. 

On Tuesday, Sheinbaum praised the security strategy of her ally Lopez Obrador and highlighted her own results in Mexico City.

"In 2022 we achieved the lowest rate of intentional homicides since 1989," Sheinbaum, 61, wrote on social media.

"Now Mexico City is among the seven states (out of 32 nationwide) with the fewest homicides per 100,000 inhabitants," she added.

The Latin American nation registered 32,223 murders in 2022 -- 25 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants -- compared with 35,700 the previous year, national statistics agency INEGI said last month.