Presidential contest in Mexico a virtual tie as campaign ends

By S. Lynne Walker
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
June 29, 2006

MEXICO CITY – As the last bits of confetti fluttered over more than 200,000 people gathered at leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador's final rally, Mexicans' uncertainty about who will be their next president was as palpable as it was on the first day of the campaign.

The campaign season officially ended yesterday after six months of personal insults and mudslinging. But the race is so tight and the electorate so volatile that no one can predict the outcome of Sunday's election.

Roy Campos, president of Consulta Mitofsky polling firm, expects a record 40 million people to cast ballots.

“Why are so many people going to vote? Because for the first time, the presidential race has three (credible) candidates, three political parties and three platforms,” Campos said.

In Mexico's fledgling democracy, choosing among three fiercely competitive candidates has been a new and, for some, unsettling process.