Mexico foreign minister quits in bid to clinch presidential nomination

FILE PHOTO: Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard speaks, as negotiators from Colombia's government and members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group attend a cycle of peace dialogues, during the Inter-American Conference on Social Security (CISS) in Mexico City, Mexico February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's foreign minister, one of the leading contenders to be the country's next leader, said on Tuesday he will resign to focus on winning the presidential nomination of the ruling party for the 2024 election.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, a former mayor of Mexico City, wants to succeed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as the standard-bearer of the leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), which now dominates national politics.