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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | May 2006 
Calderón Gets Double-Digit Lead in Mexico
 Angus Reid
| | Felipe Calderon, presidential candidate for the ruling National Action Party, PAN, is greeted by supporters during a campaign stop in the town of Zacatlan de las Manzanas, Mexico on April 20, 2006. Although Calderon was not President Vicente Fox 's top choice to be the party's presidential candidate, Calderon effectively billed himself as an underdog who would continue Fox's successes while fixing his government's mistakes. He easily won his party's three-way primary race last fall. (AP/Joel Merino) |
Former energy secretary Felipe Calderón is now the frontrunner in Mexico’s presidential election, according to a poll by GEA-ISA. 41 per cent of respondents would vote for the governing National Action Party (PAN) contender in this year’s ballot.
Former Mexico City mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) is second with 31 per cent, followed by former Tabasco governor Roberto Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) with 25 per cent. Patricia Mercado of the Social-Democratic and Peasant Alternative Party (PASC) and Roberto Campa of the New Alliance Party (PNA) are also contending.
Support for Calderón among decided voters increased by five points since March, while backing for both López Obrador and Madrazo fell by three points. López Obrador did not take part in the Apr. 25 presidential debate. The PRD nominee will attend a second and final meeting of candidates on Jun. 6.
The PAN’s Vicente Fox ended 71 years of uninterrupted rule by the PRI in the 2000 election, winning a six-year term with 42.5 per cent of the vote.
Yesterday, López Obrador blamed the media for focusing on his setbacks, saying, "Nobody is perfect, but the only difference is that my mistakes are being magnified. If the PAN candidate, the candidate of the right, makes a mistake, it’s a news story but not a scandal."
The Mexican presidential election is scheduled for Jul. 2.
Polling Data
What candidate would you vote for in the 2006 presidential election?
(Decided Voters)
Felipe Calderón (PAN)
Apr. 2006 - 41%
Mar. 2006 - 36%
Feb. 2006 - 32%
Andrés Manuel López Obrador (PRD)
Apr. 2006 - 31%
Mar. 2006 - 34%
Feb. 2006 - 41%
Roberto Madrazo (PRI)
Apr. 2006 - 25%
Mar. 2006 - 28%
Feb. 2006 - 26%
Source: GEA-ISA
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,400 Mexican adults, conducted from Apr. 27 to Apr. 30, 2006. Margin of error is 3.5 per cent. |
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