This looks to be an important election for future relations between Mexico and the United States, and there is no clear winner.
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With official campaigning over, polls indicate a virtual dead heat between the two top contenders at the end of a nasty race for president, a vote that could have important consequences for U.S.-Mexico relations.
A quick guide to the three leading candidates is included with this article.
This also caught my eye:
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Both sides have run attack ads — partly the product of American political consultants hired by both sides — with Calderón comparing López Obrador to leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and López Obrador trying to portray Calderón as a puppet of the rich.
(Bold added for emphasis)
To be debated:
1. Who do you think will be Mexico's next President? Who would you vote for if you were a Mexican citizen? (See the polls also.)
2. If Obrador is elected, sending Mexico leftward, how will this effect relations with the USA?
3. Is the use of attack ads, partly inspired by their success in American campaigns, inevitable in future Mexican elections?To answer my own questions, I suspect that Felipe Calderon will be elected, and mostly continue the policies of Vicente Fox. He would probably get my vote, since this election seems to be mostly about economic issues. I'd be reluctant to go with a pure leftist like Obrador, and I'm not comfortable with bringing the PRI (or any political party) back to power, after it ruled Mexico for seven decades.
If Obrador is elected, I predict a lot more tension between the two nations, with free trade the big issue.
I suspect that attack ads are impossible to get rid of once they have been used with success.
Edited to fix poll at Ms. VS's request -J