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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | May 2006 
Obrador Says He's Staying Course
 Anahi Rama - Reuters
| | Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, presidential candidate for Mexico's leftist PRD (Party of the Democratic Revolution), speaks in front of an image of Mexican statesman Benito Juarez during a campaign rally in the border town of Ciudad Juarez in March. (Stringer/Reuters) |
Lagos De Moreno, Mexico - The leftist candidate for Mexican president stumped in enemy territory this weekend and pledged not to change course after a series of missteps tripped up his once front-running campaign.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the fiery former Mexico City mayor who was long the favorite for president, told small crowds of supporters in the conservative heartland that he has faith in his "ground-up" grass-roots strategy although his lead in opinion polls has evaporated in the past two weeks.
"They tell me, 'answer, defend yourself, push ahead' ... but we will continue with the same strategy," he said on Friday outside Guadalajara city, part of the western and northern regions where he trails a distant third in polls.
In the past two weeks, Lopez Obrador has sunk to second place in nationwide opinion surveys ahead of the July 2 election and analysts say the race is now too close to call.
Lopez Obrador was hurt by his failure to participate in the first of two televised debates, by his hot-head image as he snapped at President Vicente Fox and other critics, and by aggressive advertising from conservative ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon that helped push the conservative ahead.
Lopez Obrador, who promises welfare programs and infrastructure projects to lift up the poor, says the polls are rigged and that he holds a solid lead as he tours the countryside appealing mainly to the underclasses.
"I'm not upset by the media campaign of the right," he said of Calderon's tactics. He admitted he made mistakes but said they were magnified by the media. Still, it appears Lopez Obrador may be changing his tack somewhat.
After eschewing heavy advertising in favor of a word-of-mouth approach, next week he will launch ads expected to try to tarnish Calderon by highlighting Fox's failures.
Fox's election in 2000 ended 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and he remains personally popular. But he did not deliver on promises of jobs and other benefits and that record is seen as a liability for Calderon and his National Action Party.
PROJECTING PRESIDENTIAL IMAGE
The new ads will raise Lopez Obrador's media presence and project an image of "Andres Manuel, head of state" rather than slinging mud, said campaign coordinator Jesus Ortega.
Calderon and PRI contender Roberto Madrazo, running third in polls, have labeled Lopez Obrador a populist who left Mexico City in debt and would undo the country's fiscal stability.
Those charges may be sticking, at least with voters from the PAN's conservative base.
"He is dangerous because he likes to go into debt," said Jose Luis Rosas, 29, a food company employee in the small town of Lagos de Moreno outside Guadalajara.
Lopez Obrador's camp calls the claims lies in a "dirty war" led by Fox.
"Our hearts are hot," Lopez Obrador told voters in the western city of Tonala before heading to Fox's home state of Guanajuato for a weekend campaign swing. "But we will act with cool heads." |
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