Mexico Candidates Squabble in First Debate Light on Plans

  • Education, healthcare were main topics for short-answer debate
  • Each candidate sought to discredit opponents, question ethics
Claudia Sheinbaum arrives for the first televised presidential debate in Mexico City on April 7.Photographer: Stephania Corpi/Bloomberg
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Mexico’s presidential candidates traded attacks and attempted to discredit each other in the first debate of the 2024 race, while going light on details of proposals to address corruption, education and health.

The debate, the first of three ahead of June 2 elections, pit ruling party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum against main competitor Xochitl Galvez and third-party candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez, all of whom spent much of the time pulling out placards to illustrate one another’s alleged corruption or mismanagement scandals.