Mexico's left battles ruling party in key state election

Record ID: 877707

  • Title: Mexico's left battles ruling party in key state election
  • Date: 1st June 2017
  • Summary: CHICOLOAPAN, STATE OF MEXICO, MEXICO (MAY 31, 2017) (REUTERS) MORENA CANDIDATE DELFINA GOMEZ GREETING SUPPORTERS AT RALLY MORENA PARTY FLAG WAVING AT RALLY MORENA SUPPORTING CHANTING "DELFINA" FOR CANDIDATE DELFINA GOMEZ SUPPORTER CHANTING "DELFINA" AND SHAKING FIST IN THE AIR AT RALLY MORENA FLAGS WAVING AT RALLY GOMEZ ON STAGE WITH PARTY OFFICIALS PERSON DRESSED IN COSTUME OF MORENA 2018 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR
  • Embargoed: 16th June 2017 00:10
  • Keywords: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador leftist Alfredo del Mazo Institutional Revolutionary Party state elections President Enrique Pena Nieto MORENA Party State of Mexico Mexico governor Delfina Gomez
  • Location: CHICOLOAPAN, ECATEPEC, CUAUTITLAN, STATE OF MEXICO, MEXICO CITY, UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, MEXICO
  • City: CHICOLOAPAN, ECATEPEC, CUAUTITLAN, STATE OF MEXICO, MEXICO CITY, UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016JG64HV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Nearly nine decades of rule by President Enrique Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Mexico's most populous state is hanging in the balance amidst a resurgent left led by political firebrand, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
    Two polls showed PRI was in a photo-finish with the new party of veteran leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the National Regeneration Movement or MORENA.
    A poll in newspaper Reforma showed MORENA's gubernatorial candidate for the state, Delfina Gomez, had 31.9 percent support, ahead of PRI rival Alfredo del Mazo with 30.7 percent. A second poll in newspaper El Universal put del Mazo in front with 33.8 percent support, with Gomez at 29.3 percent.
    MORENA's chance of victory will depend on voter turnout in the State of Mexico. Lopez Obrador has accused his PRI rivals of buying votes. He believes if he can amass enough supporters he can overcome PRI's support base.
    Castigating Pena Nieto for his government's failure to stamp out political corruption and rising gang violence, Lopez Obrador and his candidate for state governor Delfina Gomez have sought to turn the state campaign into a referendum on PRI rule in the biggest remaining bastion of the ruling party.
    Mexico's ruling party has gone on the attack against MORENA and accused its main leftist rival of trying to turn the country into strife-torn Venezuela.
    Speaking at PRI candidate Alberto del Mazo's closing rally in the Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec, PRI Chairman Enrique Ochoa sought to brand MORENA as an ally of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
    MORENA's anti-corruption message has gained traction nationally as Pena Nieto and the PRI struggles to contain graft scandals and gang violence that have battered its reputation.
    With Pena Nieto's popularity at record lows and violence still rampant in many parts of Mexico, the president could contribute to the unseating of the PRI in its traditional stamping ground.
    A possible win for Lopez Obrador could build momentum for his presidential win in 2018, a move that could stoke tensions with the United States after President Donald Trump's electoral campaign broadsides against Mexico, such as insisting it would pay for a wall on the U.S. border.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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