Issue Watch

About Angus Reid Global Monitor

The definitive online source for examining worldwide public opinion and democratic processes.

The Global Monitor is a vital source of timely political intelligence for journalists, students, policy makers, and citizens. By merging academic expertise with the highest journalistic standards, we seek to advance research, improve information exchange, and enhance understanding of the changing dynamic of public opinion and democracy.
Read More

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

All fields are required.

Calderón is Ahead in Mexican Election

June 23, 2006

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Former energy secretary Felipe Calderón is the top contender in Mexico's presidential race, according to a poll by Zogby International and the University of Miami School of Communication. 34.5 per cent of respondents would support the governing National Action Party (PAN) candidate in next month's ballot.

Former Mexico City mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) is second with 31.3 per cent, followed by former Tabasco governor Roberto Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) with 27.1 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.

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 Jun. 21, Calderón vowed to enact a "unilateral ceasefire" with the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), adding, "I know that the real reason for the war that started (in Chiapas) was misery."

In January 1994, the EZLN declared its intention to overthrow the Mexican government, headed at the time by the PRI's Carlos Salinas de Gortari. The group took control of several municipalities in Chiapas during a two-week uprising. There have been no new clashes between the Zapatistas and the Mexican armed forces in more than 11 years.

The Mexican presidential election is scheduled for Jul. 2.

Polling Data

What candidate would you vote for in the 2006 presidential election?
(Decided Voters)

Jun. 2006

May 2006

Felipe Calderón (PAN)

34.5%

38%

Andrés Manuel López Obrador (PRD)

31.3%

33%

Roberto Madrazo (PRI)

27.1%

25%

Source: Zogby International / University of Miami School of Communication
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,000 Mexican adults, conducted from Jun. 10 to Jun. 15, 2006. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.