Mexico gives Lopez Obrador a big presidential victory

Angry and frustrated by corruption and violence, Mexican voters won an electoral victory at the left of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, giving him a broad mandate to overthrow the political establishment and rule for the poor.

An official account of the electoral authorities last Sunday predicted that Lopez Obrador would win between 53% and 53.8% of the vote, a remarkable margin never seen in the country for more than three decades. Early Monday, with about 50% of the votes counted, the advantage of Lopez Obrador was close to the quick account statistical sample.

A prominent exit poll predicted that his party allies were poised to score great victories in congressional races, perhaps winning absolute majorities in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

Lopez Obrador, who campaigned to transform Mexico and oust the "power mafia" that ruled the country, provoked the anger and discontent of the voters of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) of President Enrique Pena Nieto. polls since the beginning of the campaign.

The PRI, which dominated Mexican politics for most of the 20th century and took over the presidency in 2012, was to suffer heavy losses not only for the presidency but for other races as well.

In a brief address to a hotel in central Mexico City, Lopez Obrador called for reconciliation after a polarizing campaign and promised profound change, but with respect for the law and the constitutional order.

"I confess that I have a legitimate ambition: I want to get into history as a good president of Mexico," said Lopez Obrador, who had lost in the previous two presidential elections . "I desire with all my soul to elevate the greatness of our country above."

The incumbent president, whose term begins on December 1, devoted much of his speech to appealing to citizens of all stripes and seeking to rebadure those who scrutinized his candidacy with nervousness.

"This new national project will seek to establish a genuine democracy and we do not intend to establish a dictatorship," said Lopez Obrador. "The changes will be profound, but in keeping with the established order."

Conservative Ricardo Anaya of a right-left coalition and PRI's Jose Antonio Meade acknowledged the defeat shortly after the closure of polling stations nationwide. The quick count had them about 22 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Lopez Obrador's supporters began wild celebrations in Mexico City, strolling along the central Paseo de la Reforma blvd at the sound of "Viva Mexico!" and waving Mexican flags from car windows and moon roofs.

Thousands of people dumped themselves in the big square called Zocalo, where the former mayor of the capital, aged 64, had called his supporters to rally. Many danced to the trills of mariachi music.

The retired teacher, Susana Zuniga, beamed and declared that the country was living a moment similar to the Mexican revolution a century ago.

"People are fed up, that's what brought us to that," she said.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweets congratulations: "I am very much looking forward to working with him, there is much to do that will benefit the United States and Mexico!"

Lopez Obrador said that individual and property rights would be guaranteed, promised respect for the autonomy of the Bank of Mexico and said his government will maintain financial and fiscal discipline.

He stated that the contracts obtained under the energy reforms pbaded under the chairmanship of Enrique Pena Nieto will be reviewed for any bribery or illegality, but otherwise the contracts will be honored.

"There will be no confiscation or expropriation of property … The eradication of corruption will be the main mission," he said.

Lopez Obrador also spoke of support for migrants and said that the most forgotten and humble people in Mexico would have preference in his government. He said that he will seek a relationship of "friendship and respect" with the United States. And rather than resorting to force to combat spiraling violence, he will seek to rectify root causes such as inequality and poverty.

"Peace and tranquility are the fruits of justice," said Lopez Obrador.

Exit survey by Consulta Mitofsky for the Televisa network forecasts the governor's victory for party allies Morena Lopez Obrador in at least four of the eight state races on the ballot more for the head of government to Mexico City. The central state of Guanajuato was supposed to address a Conservative National Action Party candidate.

Mitofsky predicts that Morena's allies would take between 56 and 70 seats in the 128-member Senate and 256 to 291 seats in the 500-seat lower house.

"The anger that the average Mexican feels towards the way things are governed has favored Lopez Obrador," said Shannon O Neil, head of Latin American studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. "He was able to capture the coat of the person who is outside who wants the change."

In a speech to the huge crowd in the Zocalo, he struck a moderate tone, stressing the need to act with respect, to maintain economic and financial stability.

He is also committed to increasing child support for the elderly and to providing scholarships or paid apprenticeships to young people.
"Now that he has won, he can not miss this new generation who believes in him," said Mariano Bartolini, a 29-year-old lawyer who voted for Lopez Obrador in the northwestern town of Rosarito from Tijuana. "It's thanks to us, the young people who support him, that he was able to get more votes than in the last elections".