Presidential contender worries Mexican elite

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Sun, Apr. 02, 2006
Presidential contender worries Mexican elite

With three months left before election, some wonder about former Mexico City mayor's attitude toward business
By Jay Root
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS

MEXICO CITY - Some diplomats and businessmen are spooked by the possibility that former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will become Mexico's next president.

But with three months to go before the election, most admit that they have little hard information on how an administration led by the tough-talking leftist would affect Mexico's attitude toward business and foreign investment.

In a country where the average wage is less than $2 an hour and millions have moved to the United States in search of better jobs, Lopez Obrador's populist message has been a winner. The 52-year-old widower has led opinion polls for more than two years. A Mitofsky poll conducted this week for the Televisa news network showed him leading with 37.5 percent, compared with 30.6 percent for Calderon and 28.8 percent for Roberto Madrazo of the once-dominant Institutional Revolution Party (PRI).

His harshest critics have likened Lopez Obrador to Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president who likes to call President Bush a "donkey" and "Mr. Danger."
Lopez Obrador aides laugh off the comparison and say the only people who should worry are corrupt politicians and their special-interest backers.
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http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/14246326.htm