Veteran Leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador won a landslide victory in Mexico’s presidential election on Sunday night, The Washington Post reported. He is the first Leftist president since Mexico became a democracy more than 30 years ago.
Although the official results have not yet been declared, the 64-year-old candidate’s main opponents – Ricardo Anaya and ruling party candidate Jose Antonio Meade – conceded defeat. According to an exit poll conducted by the El Financiero newspaper, Obrador, a former mayor of Mexico city, got 49% of the vote while his closest rival, Anaya from the National Action Party, polled 27%. Meade of the Institutional Revolutionary party came third with 18% of the votes.
Obrador, who counts Mexican independence and revolutionary leaders among his influences, hopes to introduce humble lifestyle in the country’s political corridors. He has vowed to crack down on corruption and wage a war on drugs. His victory represents an emphatic rejection of the traditional politicians whom he regularly calls the “mafia of power”, reported The Washington Post.
United States President Donald Trump congratulated Obrador, adding that he looked forward to working with him. “There is much to be done that will benefit both the United States and Mexico,” Trump said. Reports said that hundreds of Mexicans living in the US drove home to vote for Obrador, after he vowed to stand up to Trump and protect around 12 million Mexicans who live in the US. Trump has wanted to build a wall between the US and Mexico, and has claimed that criminals and rapists from Mexico cross over into his country.
The Mexican election campaign this time was marred by violence. More than 130 political candidates and party workers killed were killed in the run up to the polls, reported BBC.
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