MB Civic

Rivals claim victory in Mexican election

By Richard Lapper and Adam Thomson in Mexico City

Published: July 3 2006 06:08 | Last updated: July 3 2006 14:01

Mexico was plunged into uncertainty on Monday when both leading left- and right-wing candidates claimed victory in a fiercely contested presidential election.

The development came after the country’s electoral authorities said that the race was too close to call and that a final result would only be announced after a full manual count set to begin on Wednesday.

On Monday it appeared that Felipe Calderón, the candidate of the governing centre-right National Action Party (PAN), was pulling ahead in the vote, a prospect that seemed to please the markets who saw the peso rise 1.5 per cent to 11.1650 per dollar in morning trading.

Luis Carlos Ugalde, head of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), gave no indication as to when final figures would be declared.

“This is negative for the markets,” said Lacey Gallagher, head of emerging markets at Credit Suisse First Boston, the investment bank. “If one of the candidates believes he has strong grounds for questioning IFE’s figures this could drag on for months.”

On Sunday night, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the left-wing candidate for the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), claimed he had a lead of 500,000 votes – a margin equal to about 1 per cent of the votes cast. “This result is irreversible…we have won,” he said from a Mexico City hotel. “I demand, I ask that the IFE respects our results.”

Moments later in the city’s main square, Mr López Obrador said to thousands of cheering supporters “I deeply regret that the IFE has not given the result…It has to respect our triumph.”

His words were greeted with fireworks and aggressive chanting. “Smile, we have already won,” he told the crowd.

Mr Calderón was equally emphatic in claiming victory. “We have no doubt we have won the election,” he said from his campaign headquarters in Mexico City.

Mr Calderón cited several exit polls and early provisional figures published on IFE’s website to support his claim. However, political analysts on Sunday night pointed out that the figures were inconclusive.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), whose candidate, Roberto Madrazo, appeared to lagging well behind in third place, urged parties to respect the legal process. “Nothing is above the law,” it said in a press release.

There appeared to be a growing danger on Sunday night that the stand-off could deepen political divisions that have emerged as a result of a bitter and intemperate campaign.

The uncertainty is not unique to Mexico. Close-run elections in the US, Germany and Italy also forced agonising delays before winners were declared. However, none of these countries are as socially divided or as politically polarised as Mexico.

Almost half of Mexico’s 100m population live below the poverty line and the country is one of the most socially unequal in the world. On Sunday night Mr López Obrador appeared to play on those divisions, by pointing out that “the principal base (of the PRD) are the poor and the humble.”

Since the political campaigns began in January Mexico has suffered a number of violent labour disputes – albeit unrelated to the election – and speculation surfaced on Sunday night that the latest developments could make things worse.

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