Mexico votes amidst violence and division, deciding between 2 female presidential candidates.

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico goes into Sunday’s election deeply divided: friends and relatives no longer talk politics for fear of worsening unbridgeable divides, while drug cartels have split the country into a patchwork quilt of warring fiefdoms. The atmosphere is literally heating up, amid a wave of unusual heat, drought, pollution, and political violence.

It’s unclear whether Mexico’s next president will be able to rein in the underlying violence and polarization.

Soledad Echagoyen, a Mexico City doctor who supports President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s Morena party, says she can no longer talk about politics with her colleagues.

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“In order to not lose friendships, we decided not to bring up politics starting six years ago because we were arguing, and the attacks started to get personal,” said Dr. Echagoyen.

Being a critic of the current administration does not appear to be easier.

“There’s too much hate,” said Mexico City student Luis Avalos, 21. He said some of his friends accuse him of “betraying the country” for not supporting Lopez Obrador.

Opposition presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez has focused her ire on Lopez Obrador’s “hugs not bullets” policy of not confronting the drug cartels.