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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | July 2006 
After Victory Calderon Pledges to Address Deep Social Problems
 Patrick Moser - AFP
| | Fresh from a narrow electoral victory contested by his rival, conservative Felipe Calderon pledged his government would address the deep social problems that polarize Mexico. (AFP) |
Fresh from a narrow electoral victory contested by his rival, conservative Felipe Calderon pledged his government would address the deep social problems that polarize Mexico.
Calderon, 43, of the ruling National Action Party (PAN), also said he would conduct a "responsible and active foreign policy" after he takes over the presidency on December 1, maintaining close ties with the neighboring United States and improving relations with Cuba and Venezuela.
US President George W. Bush telephoned Calderon Friday "to congratulate him on his hard-won victory and to tell him that he looked forward to working with him on issues of mutual interest," his spokesman said.
Calderon garnered almost 36 percent of the vote and a lead of just under 0.6 percentage points over Andres Manuel Lopez Obradror, who insisted the process was marred by irregularities and demanded a complete recount of the 42 million ballots.
Authorities announced Calderon's victory on Thursday, but he won't be formally proclaimed president-elect until the Federal Electoral Tribunal has considered any legal challenges.
Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor and the standard-bearer of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD,) said he would take his case to the tribunal, which has until September 6 to give its final seal of approval to the July 2 presidential election.
But a monitoring mission from the European Union said its 80 observers had not detected any wrongdoing and the US administration called the election "free and fair."
The next president will have to deal with a divided Congress, after the PAN got the most votes for the House and the Senate but fell well short of an outright majority.
He also will have to deal with a politically and socially fractured country.
Calderon Friday called for "peace and conciliation" and pledged to battle poverty, which affects about half the 103 million population.
"My social policies will favor the poor," he said at a news conference.
On foreign policy, he said Mexico's strong ties with the United States, Mexico's northern neighbor and its main trade partner, were "extremely important and delicate."
He said he would "not blink or bow" in dealing with the United States, Cuba or Venezuela, whose leftist leader Hugo Chavez has infuriated Washington with his anti-US rhetoric.
He reiterated his opposition to US plans to build a wall along the 3,200 kilometer (2,000 mile) border between the two countries. He also proposed the creation of a joint fund with the United States and Canada that would invest in the poorest areas of Mexico to create jobs that would ease illegal migration across the northern border.
Calderon's victory came after a nail-biting 30-hour verification of the ballot tallies the polling offices had sent in to electoral authorities. An initial count conducted immediately after the voting also gave him a 0.6-point lead.
Markets reacted favorably to the announcement the pro-business Calderon won the election, with the Mexican stock exchange scoring a net rise over Thursday and Friday after Calderon's victory became clear.
But economic analysts feared the Lopez Obrador's decision to contest the result could affect the upbeat Mexican economy.
"It could send signals of instability, and as a result generate uncertainty on international markets over the future situation of Mexico," the Center for Economic Studies of the Private Sector said in a analysis published Friday.
A staunchly conservative former energy minister, Calderon wants to encourage foreign investment and slash corporate taxes in order to boost economic growth.
US President George W. Bush has said he would work closely with the new leader, irrespective of who won the election.
But the US administration, already concerned about a leftward trend in Latin America in recent years, was evidently relieved the Mexican election did not put a leftist in power at the doorstep of the United States. |
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