By Noe Torres and Mica Rosenberg
MEXICO CITY, May 19 (Reuters) – Thousands of demonstrators
protested in Mexico City on Saturday against opposition
presidential candidate Enrique Pena Nieto, who is far ahead in
polls and poised to lead the party that ruled Mexico for much of
the 20th century back to power.
A contingent of mainly students, accompanied by groups of
unionized workers and peasant farmers, held banners lambasting
the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and its
candidate, Pena Nieto.
“I have a brain, I won’t vote for the PRI,” one banner read.
Demonstrators also held signs accusing Pena Nieto of being
unfairly favored by television companies and of having been
corrupt and repressive as governor of Mexico State, a post he
held from 2005 until 2011.
“I am not with any party, but I am sick of so much
corruption,” said Eduardo Nolasco, a 22-year-old student.
“We are fed up of so many lies and of the hypocrisy of Pena
Nieto and the media,” added Isabel Leyva, a 53 year-old house
wife who was accompanied by her daughter, a student.
Police said there were more than 40,000 protesters at the
demonstration.
Pena Nieto’s campaign team have vigorously denied
accusations of corruption and say they have had no favoritism
from TV media in the run-up to the July 1 election.
A telegenic 45-year old with a soap opera star wife, the PRI
candidate also argues that his party has changed dramatically in
the last decade.
The PRI held the Mexican presidency continuously from 1929
until 2000, during which time there were widespread accusations
of vote rigging and violent crackdowns on protests.
It finally lost the presidency to the pro-business National
Action Party, or PAN, a victory that was hailed as a triumph for
democracy. The PAN held power in 2006 with the election of
President Felipe Calderon.
But the PRI has regained support amid rampant drug violence
and sluggish economic growth.
An opinion poll on Friday found that 45.5 percent of decided
voters said they would cast ballots for Pena Nieto, giving him a
lead of more than 20 points over the nearest of his rivals.
Calderon is prohibited constitutionally from running for a
second term. The PAN’s candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota was
running a distant second at 25.1 percent in the poll.
Leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was in third
place with 23.4 percent support, according to the survey
published by Milenio newspaper and conducted by pollster
GEA/ISA.
Analysts said Pena Nieto could face political trouble if
demonstrations against his party and candidacy spread.
“If we start to see constant and repeated confrontation and
rejection of Pena Nieto, than this could have an effect,” Ulises
Beltran of the polling firm BGC said, adding that anti-Pena
Nieto protests could help tighten the presidential race.
Protesting students booed Pena Nieto when he visited an
upscale private university in Mexico City earlier this month.
The demonstration on Saturday was promoted vigorously on social
media sites, which are favored by young voters.
Other analysts said the protests would be unlikely to swing
the race.
“The young, upper middle-class university students (active
on social media) are not that important in population terms, but
they are a group that can make a lot of noise,” pollster Roy
Campos said.
(Reporting by Mica Rosenberg, Noe Torres and Ioan Grillo;
Writing by Ioan Grillo; Editing by Paul Simao)
