[Marxism] Leftist Ex-Mayor Leads Mexican Race (WSJ)

["Walter Lippmann" <walterlx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

(Cuba isn't mentioned here, but Mexico's importance to Cuba is so
important you'll want to read this carefully. AMLO is hardly a hard
left type, but the U.S. media like the WSJ has been redbaiting him.
Nowadays, modern hip and trendy red-baiting takes the form of using
the name of Venezuela's Chavez more than Cuba's Fidel Castro, though.

("A López Obrador victory would mark a significant win for the left in
Latin America, where nearly two decades of free-market trends have
barely dented poverty. Mr. López Obrador says he wouldn't reverse
Mexico's economic liberalization, but would instead focus on measures
such as boosting public spending.") COMMENT: boosting public spending
makes AMLO nearly a Bolshevik to the Wall Street Journal's editor.)
===================================================================

June 16, 2006 

Leftist Ex-Mayor 
Leads Mexican Race 
For President in Poll

By JOHN LYONS
June 16, 2006; Page A8
WALL STREET JOURNAL

MEXICO CITY -- With two weeks to go before presidential elections,
the leftist former mayor of Mexico City has retaken the lead from
ruling-party candidate Felipe Calderón, who has struggled to dispel
allegations he used cabinet-level posts to steer contracts to his
brother-in-law's businesses.

A poll released Wednesday by Consulta Mitofsky, a company affiliated
with the U.S.-based Mitofsky International, showed Andrés Manuel
López Obrador -- whose wide lead dwindled to a statistical tie in
recent months -- with 35% of the vote to Mr. Calderón's 32%. A third
candidate, Roberto Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party,
took 28% support among likely voters. The results lent credibility to
two other recent polls that showed Mr. López Obrador back on top.

Mr. Calderón, campaigning on a "clean hands" anticorruption platform,
has been upended by media scrutiny of the business dealings of his
wife's brother, Diego Zavala, who has stakes in numerous companies
that do business with the government. Mr. López Obrador touched off a
frenzy by alleging during a televised debate that Mr. Zavala won
energy-related contracts while Mr. Calderón was energy minister, and
that Mr. Zavala subsequently didn't pay taxes.

Mr. Calderón has denied the charge. Mr. Zavala also denies the
accusation, and has filed suit against Mr. López Obrador for
defamation. Mr. Zavala hasn't been accused of wrongdoing by any
law-enforcement authority.

Regardless of whether the allegations are valid, they have resonated
in the presidential race because they play off a central theme of Mr.
López Obrador's campaign: In a country of extreme wealth and poverty,
elites have prospered by evading taxes while carving up the economic
pie in backroom deals.

A López Obrador victory would mark a significant win for the left in
Latin America, where nearly two decades of free-market trends have
barely dented poverty. Mr. López Obrador says he wouldn't reverse
Mexico's economic liberalization, but would instead focus on measures
such as boosting public spending.

Mr. Calderón's sophisticated U.S.-styled campaign sought to quickly
counter the charges, with a barrage of advertisements and news
conferences. It also presented Mr. Zavala to explain his dealings of
the software and consulting firm he founded, Hildebrando SA, and its
subsidiaries.

But that failed to erase the taint of suspicion, as reflected in
recent polls. Although the businessman denied the claims against him,
he clouded the issue when he confirmed that Meta Data SA, a company
acquired by Hildebrando in October 2003, won a contract from state
oil company Petroleos Mexicanos while Mr. Calderón was energy
minister and oversaw the company's operations.

Mr. Zavala also participates in as many as 18 small companies, half
of which were created during the administration of current President
Vicente Fox, and some of which also have dealings with the
government. The López Obrador camp claims the large number of
companies suggests Mr. Zavala sought to evade taxes and hide the
range of his dealings, a charge Mr. Zavala denies.


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