Mexico

Area: 1,964,375 sq km (758,450 sq mi)

Population (2006 est.): 104,038,000

Capital: Mexico City

Head of state and government: Presidents Vicente Fox Quesada and, from December 1, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa

The July presidential election was the main focus of public debate in Mexico during 2006. Officially registered candidates from five parties or coalitions competed for the presidency: Roberto Campa (New Alliance Party, PANAL); Felipe Calderón (National Action Party, PAN) ( Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Alliance for the Good of All, composed of the Party of the Democratic Revolution [PRD], the Labour Party [PT], and Democratic Convergence [CD]); Roberto Madrazo (Alliance for Mexico , composed of the Institutional Revolutionary Party [PRI] and the Mexican Green Ecological Party [PVEM]); and Patricia Mercado (Social-Democratic and Peasant Alternative, PASDC). In addition, Rafael Guillén ("Subcomandante Marcos") represented the Zapatista National Liberation Army in an unofficial campaign to promote grassroots democracy.see Biographies);

The campaign centred on the bitter rivalry between López Obrador, a popular former head of the Federal District government and the candidate who led in public opinion polls during much of the race, and Calderón , representing the incumbent centre-right PAN. In response to Calderón 's charges that he was "a danger for Mexico " and a Hugo Chávez -style populist whose social-justice programs would endanger the country's hard-won financial stability, López Obrador reassured the private sector and international investors that he was not antibusiness. Calderón sought to benefit from outgoing Pres. Vicente Fox 's personal popularity by advocating continuity in economic policy. To PAN audiences Calderón stressed his conservative social values, but in an effort to win broader support, he also promised to be a "jobs president."

Although balloting on July 2 occurred without major disruptions, the narrow difference between the vote totals for Calderón and López Obrador quickly led to controversy. Within hours after the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) announced that it would not release results of its national exit poll because the difference between the two leading candidates was within the sample's statistical margin of error, first López Obrador and then Calderón claimed victory. A district-level tally several days later confirmed an extremely narrow lead for Calderón , but López Obrador contested this result.

López Obrador subsequently demanded that the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Branch (TEPJF) order a ballot-by-ballot recount. He argued that the entire electoral process had been tainted by the Fox administration's partisan actions in support of Calderón and by massive irregularities on election day affecting as many as two-fifths of all polling sites. At the same time, López Obrador announced a national campaign of peaceful civic resistance to bring public pressure on electoral authorities. Toward this end, on July 30 his supporters blockaded one of Mexico City 's main boulevards and occupied the Zócalo, the public plaza facing the National Palace. The PRD's position was undoubtedly influenced in part by memories of the fraudulent 1988 presidential election (in which PRD founder Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas narrowly lost to the PRI's Carlos Salinas de Gortari ), the fact that the PAN and PRI had together denied the PRD any role in selecting the IFE counselors responsible for overseeing the 2006 election, and the Fox administration's polarizing attempt in 2004–05 to prosecute López Obrador for ignoring a court order on a zoning issue and thereby to disqualify him as a presidential candidate.

In early August the seven-member TEPJF unanimously rejected demands for a full recount but agreed to reexamine ballots from some 9.1% of all polling places. Then in early September the tribunal issued another unanimous ruling confirming Calderón as president-elect. It certified a final count giving him 36.7% of valid votes, compared with López Obrador 's 36.1% (a difference of just 233,831 of the 41,557,430 ballots cast). The final shares of the valid vote for other registered presidential candidates were: Madrazo , 22.7%; Mercado , 2.8%; and Campa , 1.0%.

The TEPJF's final ruling criticized President Fox and private-sector groups for their sustained efforts to undercut López Obrador and sway voters' opinion in favour of Calderón . Even so, López Obrador refused to accept the tribunal's decision, and on September 16 ( Mexico 's independence day), his supporters publicly acclaimed him head of a parallel government. They also vowed to continue their civic resistance campaign, including high-visibility efforts to discredit both Fox and Calderón . López Obrador loyalists did, however, lift their occupation of central Mexico City , in part to avoid a confrontation with the armed forces during their annual parade commemorating Mexican independence.

For the first time, in 2006 the PAN won the largest bloc of seats in the federal Chamber of Deputies (41.2%), compared with 25.2% for the PRD, 20.8% for the PRI, 3.8% for the PVEM, 3.2% for the PT, 3.2% for CD, 1.8% for PANAL, and 0.8% for PASDC. The PAN also won the largest share of seats in the federal Senate (40.6%), compared with 25.8% for the PRI, 22.6% for the PRD, 4.7% for the PVEM, 3.9% for CD, 1.6% for the PT, and 0.8% for PANAL. The sharp decline in the electoral fortunes of the once-dominant PRI might increase its incentives to enter into legislative coalitions with the PAN, but the PAN's strengthened position might still not permit it to push through promised policy changes on such controversial matters as foreign investment in the petroleum and electrical-power sectors.

The PAN's success was due in part to the well-funded negative advertising campaign it waged against López Obrador and to mistakes that López Obrador himself committed during the campaign (including his disrespectful personal attacks on the still-popular President Fox and his refusal to participate in the first of two televised presidential debates). Moreover, Calderón appealed successfully to middle-class voters who had benefited from low inflation, a stable foreign-exchange rate, and expanded access to home mortgages.

Although the six-week occupation of central Mexico City by López Obrador supporters severely disrupted transportation and businesses in the area, the prolonged controversy over election results did not have any lasting impact on the Mexican stock market or overall economic performance. Gross domestic product grew by 4.7% in inflation-adjusted terms during the year, and consumer prices rose by only 3.6%. Mexico , the world's fifth largest oil producer, also continued to benefit from high international petroleum prices.

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