MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Two candidates dominate Mexico' presidential contest

The contest for Mexico's presidency next July 2 has become a two horse race between populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Conservative Felipe Calderon, who according to public opinion polls seems to have won the campaign's second and last televised debate Tuesday evening.

"The overwhelming perception is that we were the winners of the debate. A step closer to the presidency of the republic" said the ruling PAN party, National Action Party, candidate who promotes a "centrist option".

Campaign manager Josefina Vazquez Mota said Calderon was successful in establishing his own agenda and in highlighting differences with the other four hopefuls, particularly Lopez Obrador.

With three weeks left to ballot day, Calderón came out in a "very favourable position" underlined Ms Vazquez Mota adding that "now it's clear we have a confrontation between the past and the future".

Populist Lopez Obrador is promoting policies that envision a closed economy reliant on the state as the "principal generator of employment" with a strong content of "class struggle" and "class discrimination", insisted Calderon's spokesperson.

Calderón's program is based on attracting and promoting investment to create jobs with "complete respect for legality and the validity of contracts".

The former Energy Minister team has promised to concentrate its efforts running to July 2 in the 13 million first time voters, where most of the undecided votes are and "which will determine the outcome of the election".

Lopez Obrador aide Jesus Ortega said that post Tuesday night debate surveys are not reliable because of their notorious bias in favour of Calderon, but "the truth is both contenders came out even or with a slight advantage for us".

However Mr Ortega admitted the presidential race has turned into a two men contest since the third candidate, Roberto Madrazo from the formerly dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI, "has been left behind".

"Felipe Calderón embodies the project of the Conservative, far right voters who elude paying taxes and control the country's resources and media", stressed Ortega.

According to Ortega besides presenting in a "precise and clear" manner his agenda for tackling poverty and combating inequality, the former Mexico City mayor "looked like a true leader" and was careful "in not answering provocations and turning the debate into a street fight".

Lopez Obrador will stress that his program is geared toward "the interest of the majority of the population" particularly those earning less than 9,000 pesos (800 US dollars) a month emphasized Ortega.

PRI candidate Madrazo fearing the two-horse race and the World Cup, (with Mexico among the leading teams) could leave him completely out of the contest said Wednesday that "they are mistaken in their strategy if they consider it a two choice option because they are anchored in the past".

Calderon is a "complete neo-liberal" (XIX century laissez-faire capitalist) and Lopez Obrador "a Socialist who loves demagoguery".

Before the Tuesday debate Lopez Obrador and Calderon were head to head with 36% vote intention each and Madrazo further back with 24%. However an estimated 40% of potential voters remain undecided.