Mexicans go to the polls to elect the president

Margarita Silva, a 45-year-old English teacher in the state of central Hidalgo, said that she voted for the post of president.

Enrique Peña Nieto

in 2012 but said that she was going to vote this time for Mr López Obrador. "He will not be able to get rid of corruption overnight, but at least he will be able to start," she said as she lined up Sunday morning in a polling station .

About 89 million Mexicans are registered to vote in the presidential elections, the 500-member House of Congress, the 128-member Senate, nine governorates, and thousands of state officials and lawmakers. municipal. Mr López Obrador wins as expected, the election could signal potentially significant changes to the country's foreign policy – including a more distant relationship with the United States – and Mexico's free market economic model, where the leftist is likely to put a "Mexican voters are about to shake up the political establishment and reshape the country's political map deeply," said Alberto Ramos, chief economist for Latin America at Goldman Sachs.

The 64-year-old leftist is Mexico's best-known politician. It is the third presidential campaign of Mr. López Obrador after narrowly losing the elections in 2006 and 2012. He was so angry because of his razor loss in 2006 that he called the protesters in the street and declared himself the legitimate president, holding even swearing ceremony. His response has scared many middle class voters and has prompted critics to say that he has an authoritarian line.

This time, the silver politician tried to broaden his base by adopting a less confrontational approach. It is committed to keeping the Mexican economy open to trade, to respect the autonomy of the central bank and to limit public debt. He even made an alliance with an evangelical Christian party. When he was attacked by rivals, his response was "love and peace".

He campaigned as a foreigner to the traditional parties of Mexico and even created his own party in 2014 called the Movement for National Regeneration, or Morena, which means dark. -Skinned in Spanish. This strategy paid off when voters became angry at the corruption of established parties, including the ruling PRI party and the conservative National Action Party of Mr. Anaya, who led the country from 2000 to 2012.

Scandals have taken center stage. A dozen Mexican governors, mainly from the PRI, but also from PAN, have been convicted, arrested or accused of embezzlement and other crimes in recent years. Many remain on the list.

"Perception among Mexicans is that the PRI and the PAN have failed in Mexico, and that they are deeply corrupt.It seems that many Mexicans believe that a new and different approach is needed" said Jose Woldenberg, political analyst and former head of the electoral agency.

Despite his interest in corruption throughout the campaign, Mr. López Obrador did not propose proposals on how to treat the transplant. Instead, he said that other elected officials would follow his example of honesty.

His opponents also promised to fight against corruption. Anaya, 39, pledged to establish an independent prosecutor's office and begin the process of corruption in Peña Nieto's administration, while the PRI went out of his office. ranks to elect Mr. Meade in PAN and PRI governments.

The campaign was to be closer between Mr. López Obrador and Mr. Anaya. In late February, however, the Office of the Attorney General of Mexico stated that he was investigating Mr. Anaya in a money laundering investigation related to the sale of an industrial warehouse to a man of the United States. Local business. Anaya rejected the allegations, and many in Mexico saw the accusations as an attempt by the government to harm Mr. Anaya and position Mr. Meade as the only alternative to López Obrador.

Be that as it may, Mr. Anaya's rise in the polls stalled, allowing Mr. López Obrador to step down.

López Obrador remains a rather dissuasive figure that the population is roughly divided into his supporters and opponents. Messrs. Anaya and Meade were supported by voters who consider López Obrador a return to the country's leaders in the 1970s, strident nationalists who used favoritism to win voters and ultimately bankrupt the country.

José Luis Rangel, 27- year-old civil engineer, said that he supports Mr. Meade because he appreciates the economic stability of Mexico, which he believes could be put in danger by Mr. López Obrador. "I do not think López Obrador's election promises are realistic," he said in a polling station near the famous Guadalupe basilica in Mexico City, the country's patron saint.

million. López Obrador's proposals focus on increasing social spending and public investment, including a public works program to employ 2.3 million young people, grants to 300,000 students and a plan to double retirement pensions. He compares his plan to the New Deal under US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

To pay for his plan, Mr. López Obrador said that he would not raise taxes, but would get $ 25 billion a year by ending corruption and 20 An economist estimates that estimates the candidate on the savings achieved through corruption and austerity are unrealistic and that he will have to choose between reducing his promises or taking on the debt, which could harm the hard-won financial stability of Mexico.

Investors will see how López Obrador reacts to what many see as a fully assured victory. His margin of victory, that his Morena party claims the majority in the lower house and even the language he chooses in his victory speech, might contain clues to his presidency

"He congratulates other candidates, urge those who do not, "said Alberto Ramos, chief economist for Latin America at Goldman Sachs.

A landslide could make Mr. López Obrador the leader of the private sector, the first president to have control of the congress since 1997, allowing him to move his agenda more easily.This program includes key reforms potentially reversed or slowed down by Mr Peña Nieto, such Mexico's energy sector opening up to private investment and education reform for Mexico's public schools. It also seeks to legalize binding referendums on a range of issues, one-off. tick used by the deceased.

Hugo Chavez

in Venezuela to concentrate power.

Many investors took to heart the fact that Mr. López Obrador ruled without stacking on the debt as mayor of Mexico City. The Mexican peso has weakened slightly over the last few months, mainly because of pessimism about the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement and rising interest rates. American interests

. has already been fixed on the market. Due to Mexico's independent central bank and its close ties to the US economy, many investors view the peso as a hedge against the volatility of other emerging market currencies. But a decisive victory for López Obrador could shake this confidence

"The market wants to see as much of a counterweight as possible," said Sergio Luna, Citibanamex chief economist in Mexico City. "If we see an AMLO win with a strong margin and good results in Congress, the market will see this negatively."

The winner of the election will inherit the renegotiation of the Nafta trade agreement, discussions that have stagnated in recent weeks. Mr López Obrador said that he wanted to keep the trade deal. He supported some of the changes proposed by President Donald Trump for the agreement, such as boosting wages in Mexico. But he also vowed to defend Mexico against any attack by the US president. "We will not be treated like a piñata," he said recently.

Write to Juan Montes at [email protected] and Robbie Whelan at [email protected]