Mexico’s presidential candidate for the main opposition coalition, Xochitl Galvez, said Monday that she’s crunching numbers to determine whether to complete the project for an international Mexico City airport that was scrapped by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in favor of a military-built facility.
Days after the formal launch of her campaign, Galvez said her team was evaluating their financial options, and considering whether to continue use of the alternative airport in Mexico State known as the Felipe Angeles Airport, or AIFA. She is also deciding how to proceed with Lopez Obrador’s other major projects, such as an oil refinery and a touristic train in the country’s southeast, which she criticized for going above budget.
Mexico will hold elections on June 2, with popular Lopez Obrador limited by law to a single six-year term. His protege and former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum holds a 17-point lead over Galvez, according to a March 1 poll by El Financiero.
To finance plans under a potential government, Galvez added that she would seek to increase the number of taxpayers—without raising taxes—and take a hard look at the cost overruns on some of the existing projects. More money would be destined toward security and medicine under her leadership, she said.
She also vowed to continue the popular cash welfare programs started under the current president, known as AMLO.
Citing the frustrations of her own brother in the military, Galvez said she would also direct Mexico’s security forces to combat crime instead of participating in other tasks, such as detaining migrants. “I don’t have fear of using the force of the state when it’s necessary,” she said.
Other points mentioned during her campaign speech:
- Mexico’s state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos SA would have to stem losses from its refining business
- Heads of criminal organizations would be sent to a new maximum-security prison
- Mexico and the United States should have better cooperation on border customs
- The National Guard force should be doubled, then directed to focus on security
- Cost overruns on presidential flagship projects like the Tren Maya and Dos Bocas refinery project suggest corruption
- It will be necessary to promote environmental programs for the areas around the Tren Maya
Source: El Financiero
