Mexico's presidential election is two years away, but already fireworks are erupting that could hurt the front-running candidate, charismatic Mexico City Mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador. His reputation for honesty suffered with the recent airing of videos showing top political allies collecting alleged bribe money from a local contractor. López Obrador says the videos are part of President Vicente Fox's efforts to scuttle his candidacy. The mayor's rating has slumped from 59% to 30% since the videos appeared on Mexican TV.
Although Fox has been a lackluster President, the woes of López Obrador's Party of the Democratic Revolution give Fox's National Action Party a better chance of holding on to power. The Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled for 71 years until 2000, is still trying to shake its reputation for corruption.
Copyright 2004, Bloomberg L.P.
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