She trails the ruling party’s candidate to be Mexican leader. Visiting her hometown helps show why

By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ
Associated Press

TEPATEPEC, Mexico (AP) — She sold snacks in a small town in central Mexico as a girl. She rose to national politics with a biography that could help take her to the heights of power. But polls show Xóchitl Gálvez trailing the ruling party’s candidate ahead of Mexico’s June 2 election. A recent visit to the streets of her hometown helps show why. It also reveals a bit about the priorities of today’s Mexican voters. People in Tepatepec are less interested in Gálvez’s life story than their own difficult lives. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party has been able to ease those lives with social programs. And that’s helped his protégé, Claudia Sheinbaum.