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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | November 2005 
Madrazo Wins Easily in Pri Primary Vote
 Wire services/El Universal
| | Roberto Madrazo, an old-style political power-broker who served as head of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, bested the only other candidate, little-known party militant Everardo Moreno. The election marked the first time the PRI has chosen a presidential candidate without controlling the presidency. |
Roberto Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party rolled to a presidential primary win Sunday in a contest that was little-disputed despite deep divisions among core supporters.
Madrazo, an old-style political power-broker who most recently served as head of the party known as the PRI, easily bested his only rival, little-known party militant Everardo Moreno. With 28 percent of the votes tabulated Sunday evening, Madrazo carried 92 percent of the ballots cast.
Official results won't be available until later in the week, and while it was unclear how many party supporters voted, officials acknowledged that the race was marred by low turnout.
A former governor of Tabasco state, Madrazo was relatively unchallenged Sunday despite the opposition of a powerful, 1.2-million member teacher's union whose members threatened to boycott the primary.
The union usually counts itself among the PRI's strongest supporters, but a political spat that pitted Madrazo against union leader Elba Esther Gordillo led many teachers to oppose Madrazo's candidacy.
Casting his vote in Tabasco on Sunday, Madrazo said too much had been made about PRI infighting.
"I'm sure that after today, we can win the internal election and things will get better for the life of the party," he said.
The PRI controlled the presidency from 1929 until President Vicente Fox was elected in 2000. Fox is barred from running again and disappointment with his National Action Party has become widespread after the president failed to make good on many campaign promises.
But in order to win back the presidency, the PRI will have to top former Mexico City mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, of the Democratic Revolution Party, who leads most public opinion polls ahead of the July 2006 election.
PRI officials set up more than 19,000 voting booths in 27 of the country's 31 states and Mexico City. Voting was canceled in Chiapas and other southern states where officials are cleaning up from Hurricane Stan, which ravaged the area in early October.
Also, no votes were cast in Quintana Roo and Yucatan states, hit hard by Hurricane Wilma late last month, or the central state of Hidalgo in order to avoid conflicts with local elections.
After voting in Mexico City, Moreno said he will support Madrazo as long as he wins a primary that is free of fraud.
Voting was open to PRI militants and registered members and 8 million ballots were printed, said Rafael Rodríguez, head of the party's internal elections committee.
Rodríguez said that only 208 of the voting booths nationwide had reported irregularities, and all were "minor" in scale.
Sunday's race had the makings of a fight until Oct. 20, when Madrazo's main challenger, Arturo Montiel, dropped out amid allegations of alleged milliondollar property and bank transactions.
Montiel, who severed as governor of Mexico state, had gained ground in public opinion polls after winning a contest among several other rivals for the right to face Madrazo whose recent leadership of the party gave him control over much of the PRI apparatus.
Last month, reports surfaced on bank accounts and real estate transactions by Montiel, his wife and two sons. Montiel initially suggested Madrazo had leaked the information.
Material from El Universal contributed to this report. |
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