 |
|
|
 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2006 
Mexican Leftist Candidate's Lead Drops in New Poll
 Reuters
| | Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (front), presidential candidate, is seen in Zocalo square in Mexico City February 26, 2006. Lopez Obrador's lead over his nearest rival has dropped sharply to just four percentage points, according to a new opinion poll on Monday. (Reuters/Henry Romero) |
Mexico City - Mexico's leftist presidential front-runner has seen his lead drop to just 4 percentage points after an ugly round of bickering with President Vicente Fox, a new opinion poll showed on Monday.
The survey by the daily newspaper El Universal gave Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador 38 percent support among probable voters ahead of the July 2 election, while conservative ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon held second place with 34 percent.
Last month's El Universal poll showed Lopez Obrador with 42 percent and a 10-point lead over Calderon.
The latest survey was taken after Lopez Obrador launched frequent attacks on Fox that were seen as disrespectful. The president remains a popular leader despite frustration with his failure to meet promises of rapid economic growth.
The leftist former Mexico City mayor has repeatedly accused Fox of interfering in the election race on behalf of Calderon, the candidate of his National Action Party, or PAN.
When Fox warned of the dangers of demagogues and populists, Lopez Obrador told him in campaign speeches to "shut up" and nicknamed him "chachalaca," a large wild bird known for screeching loudly.
Critics accuse Lopez Obrador of an authoritarian streak, and pollsters say the attacks on Fox hurt his campaign. Aware of the damage being done, he recently offered Fox a truce.
Rival candidates have run more aggressive TV and radio ads against Lopez Obrador and his policies in recent weeks. He accused them on Monday of running a "dirty war" and lying to try to close the gap, but he insisted he would not be defeated.
"I am optimistic. We are going to win," Lopez Obrador said on his morning television show. "I am not going to join in the mudslinging. We are going to continue making proposals."
The leftist candidate won support from the poor with higher spending on social programs and infrastructure projects when he was Mexico City's mayor. He has promised the same for all of the country if he is elected president.
"That is my vision: a lot of infrastructure, highways, hospitals, schools, housing, not just because they are needed, but because they generate many jobs," he said.
Some business leaders and foreign investors fear Lopez Obrador could wreck Mexico's financial stability by running up hefty budget deficits to support a spending spree.
Fox is barred by Mexico's laws from seeking re-election. Calderon, a former energy minister, is promising to keep Fox's conservative fiscal policies and crack down on violent crime.
Roberto Madrazo, the candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled Mexico for most of the last century, stood in third place in the new El Universal poll with 25 percent support.
His campaign has been undermined by fighting within the PRI, although it still has a strong party machine across the country, something that Lopez Obrador's Party of the Democratic Revolution and Calderon's PAN both lack.
The El Universal poll surveyed 1,491 people at the start of April and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us