Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Faces Massive Protest as Tens of Thousands Marched Against Him

As the June 2 Mexico elections approached, tens of thousands of mostly opposition supporters marched in Mexico City to protest against President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, occupying the capital's iconic main plaza to voice their opposition against him.

There is massive polarization all over Mexico ahead of election day, and the protesters are claiming that AMLO is seeking to divide the country as they carry out signs that say "We are Mexicans," a reference to that claim.

The president regularly rails against the people he calls "individualists" and social climbers, which includes the middle class and businessmen, as well as blaming volunteer search advocates for being responsible for the rise in crimes. However, many of them are now pushing back against Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's accusations.

However, the protests have a lot of political tinge as many of the protesters carried banners supporting opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez, who is currently running against AMLO's hand-picked successor, former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum of the Morena Party.

"The president says that only his supporters are 'the good people' of Mexico, and the rest of us don't have rights," Mexico City resident Joel Guerra told the Associated Press. He added, "We are people, too," all while carrying a sign that read "Reclaim Mexico."

AMLO has often called his critics "racist, classist, conservative" without addressing some of the criticism laid out against him, often brushing off these criticisms with vitriol.

Meanwhile, his own candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, has been pushing back against AMLO, but she has pledged to try to reconcile Mexicans if she wins, though experts have noted that such a feat would be very difficult to achieve.

Meanwhile, Mexico Presidential Candidate Sounds Off Against Drug Cartels

Meanwhile, opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez recently spoke with the Financial Times and slammed Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's "hugs not bullets" strategy in fighting the drug cartels, saying that the outgoing president has been negligent in dealing with these criminal organizations.

The opposition candidate told the FT that she will be "confronting criminals," adding that "No one has as much power as the state and you have to use it. You have to use it intelligently but firmly."

"The bullets have been for citizens," she added and promised to tackle the drug cartels head-on should she win on June 2.

Electoral Violence Still Happening as Mexico Elections Approach

While the Mexico elections are heating up in Mexico City, where the protest is, the smaller local elections are beset with assassinations and killings as cartel violence seeks to intervene. While the national presidential candidates are protected, local candidates running for mayor or city councilor are not.

The latest attacks came in southern Mexico, with a targeted attack on Nicolas Noriega, who is running to be the mayor of the town of Mapastepec. He survived but confirmed to the AP that at least five people from his campaign were fatally shot. At least people have been killed this year due to politically-motivated attacks.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Opposition protesters gather in Mexico City ahead of rally | AFP