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| Caribbean-Latin America | |
| Mexico leftist's lead narrows in recount | |
| 2006-07-06 | |
| MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A leftist anti-poverty campaigner took a slim lead over his conservative rival in a dramatic recount of Mexico's presidential election vote on Wednesday and warned the country's stability was at stake. Partial returns showed Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador overtaking Felipe Calderon, who ended a just ahead in an initial count. Lopez Obrador, the former mayor of Mexico City, led pro-U.S. lawyer Calderon by 2 percentage points in the recount of 80 percent of polling stations but it was still too early to declare a victor from Sunday's vote. Lopez Obrador warned electoral authorities to be thorough in the recount, expected to last about a day. "The stability of the country is at stake," he said. The Harvard-educated Calderon would be an ally of the United States in Latin America, where left-wing leaders critical of Washington have taken power in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela in recent years.
Luis Carlos Ugalde, the head of the Federal Electoral Institute, or IFE, refereeing the contest, warned the recount result would be a cliffhanger. "The margin of difference is undoubtedly going to be very tight at the end," he said. "Lopez Obrador may be ahead but that could increase or decrease," he said. The initial preliminary results earlier this week gave Calderon, a former energy minister, a lead of 0.6 points but Lopez Obrador's Party of the Democratic Revolution complained of irregularities and possibly fraud. In the recount, Lopez Obrador's lead began to slip as late results came in from Calderon strongholds in the north and center of Mexico. The stock index plunged 4 percent and the peso fell against the dollar because of the political tension. Official results of the recount showed Lopez Obrador had 36.67 percent of the vote with figures in from 80 percent of polling stations. Calderon, from the ruling National Action Party, was second with 34.67 percent. Mexico's electoral court has to rule on vote disputes by August 31 and declare a winner by September 6. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 ..."In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Calderon offered to include Lopez Obrador in his Cabinet — an effort to build a coalition government and avoid weeks of political impasse. But he said he did not believe his rival would accept, adding that the two men had not spoken to each other since the election...." Fool. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2006-07-06 14:06 |
| #5 Those cheap beans and corn have driven a lot of Mexican farmers at the bottom of the ladder out of business. So guess where they go to look for a job. Personally, I'd make yet another extortion payment to American bean and corn farmers to keep the Mexicans on their side of the border. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-07-06 12:15 |
| #4 UPDATE: Calderon has 'insurmounatble' lead. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-07-06 11:54 |
| #3 renegotiate a North American trade pact to block cheap U.S. corn and beans entering Mexico Then of course the US would have to block cheap Mexican factory goods from entering the US, thereby collapsing the part of the Mexican economy that is dynamic. Sheesh, what an idiot. |
| Posted by: Spot 2006-07-06 10:23 |
| #2 Calderon is back on top, according to the WaPo Calderón is ahead with 35.6 percent to Lopez Obrador's 35.59 percent. Calderón slipped ahead this morning at 4 a.m. in Mexico City, 5 a.m. eastern standard time, after 20 hours of trailing López Obrador. Good. I hope My Diebold stock pays a good dividend this quarter. [wag] |
| Posted by: Jackal 2006-07-06 09:01 |
| #1 At 0331 it's Obrador up by .07% with 97.37% of the vote counted. His lead is dropping steadily and has been for quite awhile. It's still going to be tight, but it looks like Calderon will win the initial count. |
| Posted by: hairofthedawg 2006-07-06 04:44 |