Mexico’s ruling party set for victory in key regional election

Mexico’s ruling party is set to win a governorship election in the country’s most populous state, ending nearly a century of one-party rule in the region and boosting its bid to retain the presidency in elections next year. giving speed.

Former schoolteacher Delfina Gomez Alvarez, the candidate for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s Morena party, was on track for about 52-54 percent of the vote in Mexico state, according to preliminary results released Sunday night.

This was higher than the 43-45 percent predicted for Alejandra del Moral of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), who has held the position of state governor for almost 100 years. Full results will be published in the coming days.

The election in Mexico state, which covers most of the capital Mexico City and has some 17 million residents across the socio-economic spectrum, has been seen as a key test ahead of elections next June, when voters will vote for President, Congress and leaders of nine states

Pre-election polling uniformly favored Gómez Álvarez. While control of the state does not necessarily translate into a national victory, analysts said it indicated a clear advantage for López Obrador’s party.

“Morena is reshaping the political map of the country,” said Jesus Silva-Herzog Marquez, professor of political science at Tecnológico de Monterrey. “Regional control is a sure shot for the prospects in next year’s election.”

For many voters, the state election was a referendum on López Obrador, a left-wing populist who has maintained a high level of support since his term began in December 2018. The president has called his government the “Fourth Transformation”, and his supporters cite social programs aimed at the elderly and rural populations as well as a corruption-free image.

“We are really happy with this new change. . . because our president has a vision, he is really looking for Mexicans,” said university professor Margarita Ángel Espara in Tlánepantla de Baz casting her vote for Gómez Álvarez Said after putting in. “The other side. , , Not looking after our interests.”

In another state election on Sunday in Coahuila, which borders Texas, the PRI and its allies were set to retain power, with early counts projecting a lead of more than 30 percent. This would make Coahuila one of just two states still governed by the once-hegemonic party that held power at the national level for more than 70 years, until 2000.

But the coalition between the PRI and the centre-right National Action Party has struggled to identify a clear presidential candidate to challenge Murray. López Obrador’s party, along with its allies, now commands a two-thirds majority and a simple majority in the Senate and lower house.

Silva-Herzog Marquez said, “There will be renewed doubts over the viability of the alliance.”

The race to succeed López Obrador, who is limited by the constitution to a single six-year term, has been underway for months, with Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum expanding her lead over Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard.

In recent months, the president has stepped up his criticism of the judiciary and the media, which he accuses of blocking his agenda, and has warned his party not to “zigzag” from the path laid out by him. Needed

He also pushed through a controversial package of laws this year that slashed the budget of the country’s election commission, attracting tens of thousands of protesters who fear for the institution’s integrity ahead of national elections. The Supreme Court struck down part of the package.

Additional reporting by Carla Ruiz