Mexican leftist presidential candidate widens lead

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Mexican leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has widened his lead in the race to win the July 1 presidential election, opening up a gap of 22 percentage points, a poll by newspaper Reforma showed on Wednesday.

The April 12-15 voter poll showed Lopez Obrador winning 48 percent, a jump of six points from a February survey by Reforma.

His nearest rival, Ricardo Anaya, who heads a right-left coalition, dropped by six points to 26 percent.

Running third was Jose Antonio Meade, the candidate of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), whose backing remained steady at 18 percent, the poll showed.

Attendees wave party flags during a campaign rally with Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, presidential candidate of the National Regeneration Movement Party (MORENA), in Tijuana, Mexico, April 15, 2018. /VCG Photo

A separate survey by polling firm Mitofsky published late on Wednesday also showed Lopez Obrador pulling further ahead. In that poll, Lopez Obrador garnered 31.9 percent support, up from 29.5 percent in a Mitofsky survey last month. Anaya trailed in second with 20.8 percent and Meade polled at 16.9 percent.

Lopez Obrador vows to put Trump 'in his place'

Lopez Obrador, a 64-year-old former mayor of Mexico City, has capitalized on widespread disenchantment with the PRI over political corruption, rising levels of violence and sluggish economic growth to consolidate his lead in recent weeks.

He says Mexico should reduce its economic dependence on foreign powers, and has vowed to put US President Donald Trump "in his place" if he wins.

Trump's barbs against Mexican immigrants and complaints that Mexico has taken advantage of the United States over trade have made him very unpopular south of the border, and a Lopez Obrador presidency could usher in a testier bilateral relationship.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. /VCG Photo

Support for Anaya, a former leader of the center-right National Action Party (PAN), has slipped since he came under attack from rivals over allegations of financial impropriety in a property deal in his home state of Queretaro.

Anaya, 39, has denied any wrongdoing.

Runner-up in the last two presidential contests, Lopez Obrador has promised an "austere" budget, to be achieved by battling corruption and cutting government waste.

He has threatened to undo the centerpiece of President Enrique Pena Nieto's economic agenda, the opening of the oil and gas industry to private investment.

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Source(s): Reuters