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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | June 2006 
In Tight Race, Mexican Candidates Square Off
 Alistair Bell - Reuters
| | Mexican conservative presidential hopeful Felipe Calderon waves to supporters during a rally in Xalapa, Mexico. Calderon strengthened his lead in a new poll on Friday, while other recent polls show him tied with his leftist rival. (Fernanda Valdivia/Reuters) |
Sparks may fly at a final televised debate this week that lets voters in Mexico's July 2 presidential election watch the leading candidates slug it out after months of bad-tempered campaigning put them neck-and-neck.
In the debate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, an often irascible leftist, will face off against Felipe Calderon, a tough-talking conservative who has ended his rival's lead in opinion polls largely through negative campaigning.
Most surveys show the pair now tied.
Lopez Obrador, the capital's former mayor, promises to side with Mexico's millions of poor and tone down President Vicente Fox's free-market economic policies if he wins the election.
Calderon offers macroeconomic stability and warns that his rival would take Mexico back to the bad old days of overspending and a fumbled devaluation in 1994 that sent the peso plummeting disastrously.
Three other candidates, including third-placed Roberto Madrazo, will take part in Tuesday's debate. But the two front runners are expected to dominate the event, with their personalities as important as their policies.
Aides say Lopez Obrador will try to control his quick temper, which cost him support earlier in the campaign when he harshly attacked Fox for publicly backing Calderon.
Both are from the ruling National Action Party but Mexican presidents are supposed to remain aloof from the battles of their potential successors so that no single candidate is seen having a disproportionate amount of government support.
"We're not going to a boxing match," Jesus Ortega, the leftist's campaign chief, told Reuters. "I'm sure Andres Manuel will keep his cool but there's one thing. If he is attacked, he'll respond emphatically."
CHARISMA NEEDED
Calderon, a former energy minister who is widely considered staid, needs to show viewers he has the charisma and leadership to win the presidency and get a grip on Mexico, a complex country of over 100 million people.
"It's going to be very important for Felipe Calderon to live up to expectations that he is indeed a candidate who can win, who has the stature to win," said political commentator Leo Zuckermann. "Appearing presidential is going to be crucial in winning the debate."
Television appearances are vital for politicians in Mexico where few read newspapers. Voters value strength of character.
"It's like when a man shakes your hand. If it's a firm shake you know he is honest and sincere. When you see them on television you can judge them," said Luis Peralta, a retired factory worker.
The debate may be the last chance for Madrazo, from the main opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, to recover lost ground in opinion polls.
His party ruled Mexico for 71 years until Fox won the 2000 election but the PRI has been torn apart by infighting.
Lopez Obrador stayed away from a televised debate in April which Calderon was judged to have won. The leftist's campaign team says rallies and a candidate's past performance in office are just as important as live TV bouts.
"Everywhere in the world elections are not won by a debate, a single event. Elections are won by many months of campaigning," said Ortega, Lopez Obrador's campaign chief. |
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