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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Last week Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota fainted in Baja California state, raising questions both about her health and about her campaign strategy.
Part of the problem for Vazquez Mota has been low turnout of supporters at campaign rallies. Most notable was just before her campaign began at a stadium in central Mexico which had only partially been filled. Her campaign manager, Roberto Gil took the blame for the low turnout. The second was a little more problematic being in Sonora state, a state held by a PAN governor.
 Josefina Vazquez Mota |
At the time talk was of adjusting her campaign strategy to include forcing Gil out, but after the Easter break, Vazquez Mota has, at least for the moment, dismissed all such ideas..
As with the other candidate, Vazquez Mota took off Thursday thru Saturday for Easter, emerging Sunday to talk about universal health coverage in Mexico.
Gabriel Quadti de las Torres, in an effort to get any kind of bounce in the polls for his moribund campaign told the press earlier in the week he supported PAN president Felipe Calderon Hinojosa's strategy of using Mexico's popular military to stop drug trafficking, adding he would increase the number of Policia Federal operatives to about 10 times the total now deployed.
 Gabriel Quatri de la Torres |
Leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador began his campaign by promising to reconcile with Zapatista supporters at a campaign rally in Chiapas. About 15,000 suporters were present last week when he spoke of his campaign theme, at least in regard to the Mexican political and independent left, as Reconciliation, Justice and Progress.
 Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador |
Sicilia has protested his nascent non-partisan group the Movement for Peace, Justice and Dignity, even as several high profile members have been included in at large slates for the national Chamber of Deputies.
The Partido Revolucion Democratica(PRD) has included those peace movement leaders as part of their offering for the elections, and Sicilia has responded by suggesting his supporters go to the polls and turn in blank ballots.
PRI candidate Enrique Pena Nieto attended rallies in Veracruz before suspending his campaign for Easter.
 Enrique Pena Nieto |
Meanwhile, two top PRI leaders have been selected to coordinate the campaigns for Chamber of Deputies and senate seats. Senator Manilo Fabio Beltrones will coordinate Chamber of Deputies candidates, while current party secretary, Cristina Diaz will coordinate senatorial candidates.
Lastly, PAN president Gustavo Madero lamented the "dirty war", as he called it, being conducted in the political season as a Proceso news weekly article was published which showed PAN candidate Miranda Wallace for president or Distrito Federal in a police mugshot taken in 1998. Wallace was arrested by Mexico City police on a charge of resistance of particular and attempted murder. She was subsequently cleared of both charges. According to reports, she had been detained in a women's prison in Mexico City in March, 1998.
 Gustavo Madero Munoz |
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national politcal news for Rantburg.com