Mexico’s governing party retains power after mid-term election

[Judi Lynn]

Mexico’s governing party retains power after mid-term election
By Catherine Hardy | With AFP
08/06 08:58 CET

The governing party of President Enrique Pena Nieto has held on to power after a mid-term election in Mexico.

With an average of 30% support, the Institutional Revolutionary Party has a clear majority and looks set to keep control of Congress.

Mr Pena Nieto’s tenure has been marked by poliitical scandals and civil unrest. Pessimism and resignation are palpable in Mexico. Protesters burned ballot slips on the streets, saying angrily that their votes don’t count.

In Guerrero, teachers angry at education reforms were joined by the parents of 43 students who disappeared last year in circumstances that have never been clarified.

More:
http://www.euronews.com/2015/06/08/mexico-s-governing-party-retains-power-after-mid-term-election/

[Judi Lynn]

1. Ruling party likely to gain while 1st independent candidate wins in Mexico elections

Ruling party likely to gain while 1st independent candidate wins in Mexico elections
Associated Press
June 8, 2015 | 2:29 a.m. EDT

By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO and KATHERINE CORCORAN, Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican voters elected their first independent gubernatorial candidate, seen as a protest against party politics, while giving the ruling party an inadvertent boost in congress, sending mixed messages in midterm elections.

President Enrique Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, lost seats in congress, according to official voting trends released late Sunday by the electoral institute. But a strong and controversial campaign by the Green Party, a PRI coalition ally, boosted the Greens by as many as 20 seats, which could give the ruling party a voting majority for the first time in nearly two decades.

"The PRI lost, but not very much," said Jesus Cantu, political analyst at the Monterrey Institute of Technology.

In an election marred by sporadic violence, independent Jaime Rodriguez, known as "El Bronco," was declared the unofficial winner of the governor's race in Nuevo Leon, ousting the PRI from a key state that is home to the powerful business hub of Monterrey. His popularity was attributed to voters' disgust with all political parties, each with its own corruption scandals.

More:
http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/06/08/ruling-party-leads-1st-independent-wins-in-mexico-elections

[Judi Lynn]

2. Mexican party renegade hits government with state victory

World | Mon Jun 8, 2015 2:38pm IST

Mexican party renegade hits government with state victory

MONTERREY, Mexico | By Gabriela Lopez


A blunt, outspoken rancher with a penchant for cowboy hats dealt a blow to the Mexican government on Sunday, inflicting a heavy defeat on the ruling party to become the first independent candidate to win a state governorship in modern Mexico.

Jaime Rodriguez, a former member of President Enrique Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), won the powerful northern state of Nuevo Leon after a campaign that capitalized on widespread disaffection with the established parties.

Known as "El Bronco" (the gruff one), Rodriguez came from the back of the field to win the six-year term, beating out the PRI and the center-right National Action Party (PAN), which have traditionally run the state centered on the city of Monterrey.

"It's great that we're going to give the two parties that were governing a six-year vacation," Rodriguez, a former PRI mayor who left the party last year, told supporters. "Nuevo Leon will be the start of this second Mexican revolution."

More:
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/06/08/mexico-election-independent-idINKBN0OO0R720150608?rpc=401