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  Mexico's former ruling party has lead in key gubernatorial race
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ContributorRalphie 
Last EditedRalphie  Jun 28, 2005 06:17am
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CategoryPerspective
MediaNewspaper - Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
News DateTuesday, June 28, 2005 12:15:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionWith balloons and bands, fireworks and crowds of thousands, the long-ruling party that lost Mexico's presidency five years ago is showing renewed strength in the most important election before the 2006 presidential vote.

Many believed the PRI, as the party is known, was mortally wounded after losing the presidency to Vicente Fox after 71 years in power.

But with the legal end of campaigning on Wednesday in the State of Mexico, polls show the PRI has a strong lead. A Reforma newspaper poll on Friday showed the PRI with an 18 to 20 percentage point lead over each of its two rivals, with a 3.1 point margin of error.

The state "is a chance for parties to try out strategies, try out themes, try out messages" for 2006, said Mexico specialist George Grayson of the College of William and Mary.

For the PRI'S Enrique Pena Nieto, 38, that's meant a campaign strong on organization, long on promises and short on ideology.

The state election brought a brief truce among PRI rivals. Before the big crowd, party chairman Roberto Madrazo embraced Nuevo Leon Gov. Natividad Gonzalez, who is part of a coalition meant to keep Madrazo from taking the party presidential nomination.

Fox's National Action Party started out here almost even with the PRI. Its candidate, Ruben Mendoza, advertised himself as the "ugly" but experienced alternative to the handsome but callow Pena Nieto.

But Mendoza's popularity was hurt by televised images showing him in a mob looting promotional children's balls stamped with Pena Nieto's image - and by his playground wisecracks about the balls afterward.

Fox's insistence on holding a fifth anniversary celebration of his victory in nearby Mexico City on July 2 - a day before the Mexico state vote - also has drawn widespread criticism. Mexican laws forbid campaigning in the days before elections.
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