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Calderón Gains, Leads Rivals in Mexico
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Former energy secretary Felipe Calderón is now the top presidential candidate for Mexican voters, according to a poll by Milenio. 36 per cent of respondents would vote for the governing National Action Party (PAN) candidate in this year's ballot.
Former Mexico City mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) is second with 33 per cent, followed by former Tabasco governor Roberto Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) with 28 per cent. Patricia Mercado of the Social-Democratic and Peasant Alternative Party (PASC) and Roberto Campa of the New Alliance Party (PNA) are also contending.
Support for Calderón increased by five points since early April, while backing for López Obrador and Madrazo fell by one point and three points respectively.
The PAN's Vicente Fox ended 71 years of uninterrupted rule by the PRI in the 2000 election, winning a six-year term with 42.5 per cent of the vote.
On Apr. 30, Calderón criticized López Obrador's attitude when discussing voting intention surveys, declaring, "When polls were in his favour, he acknowledged them. Now, he despises them. When we were in second place, we did not criticize pollsters, but fine-tuned our strategies."
PRD spokesman Gerardo Fernández Noroña dismissed the Milenio survey, saying, "It is regrettable that the pollsters are taking on this role."
The Mexican presidential election is scheduled for Jul. 2.
Polling Data
Which of these candidates would you vote for in the 2006 presidential election?
Apr. 29 | Apr. 3 | Mar. 2006 | |
Felipe Calderón (PAN) | 36% | 31% | 30% |
Andrés Manuel López Obrador (PRD) | 33% | 34% | 38% |
Roberto Madrazo (PRI) | 28% | 31% | 29% |
Source: Milenio
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,500 Mexican adults, conducted from Apr. 26 to Apr. 29, 2006. Margin of error is 2.6 per cent.