MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mexicans go to polls in crucial race

With leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and conservative Felipe Calderon running neck-and-neck, the elections which will also decide both Houses of Congress, five governors seats and local posts hinge on class divisions that have seldom been talked about so openly in Mexican politics.

For 71 years, until President Vicente Fox's victory in 2000, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, ruled Mexico by claiming to represent all economic classes. Fox's victory ushered in full democracy but little social change. He is constitutionally barred from seeking-re-election.

This is a race between supporters of Lopez Obrador who have never seen a shopping mall escalator and supporters of Calderon who fear losing the low-interest loans and economic stability that emerged under Fox's disciplined budgets and high international reserves.

Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor, has sought to distance himself from Latin America's leftist tide and project a cheery image, with campaign slogans like "Happiness is on the way" and "Smile, we're going to win." But he also rails against "those on top," pledges to make the rich pay more taxes and wants to restore a sense of national pride, in part by standing up to the US on issues like farm trade.

Calderon's campaign was largely based on stoking fears that Lopez Obrador would foment class divisions and drive the country into debt and crisis like those of the 1980s and 1990s.

Roberto Madrazo of PRI is running third in the race. None of the candidates is likely to win a majority in Congress. All promise to build a consensus, but unifying a government let alone the nation after months of angry rhetoric could be challenging.