Exit polls show Obrador has huge lead in Mexico
MEXICO CITY — An exit poll gave an overwhelming lead to leftist populist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico’s presidential election Sunday night, and one of his chief rivals conceded defeat shortly after polls closed nationwide.
The survey by Consulta Mitofsky said Lopez Obrador had a 16 to 26 percent lead over his nearest rival, conservative Ricardo Anaya.
The candidate said to be in third place, Jose Antonio Meade of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, acknowledged a Lopez Obrador victory in a televised speech.
“For the good of Mexico, I wish him the greatest success,” Meade said.
Lopez Obrador, better known as AMLO, has said he will transform Mexico if he wins this, his third bid for the presidency, vowing to overthrow the “mafia of power” he claims has looted the country and rule for the poor.
“There is a lot of inequality, a lot of violence in this country,” said Lopez Obrador voter Hugo Carlos, 73. “This situation has to be changed.”
Exit polls by Consulta Mitofsky also forecast clear gubernatorial wins for allies of Lopez Obrador’s Morena party in four of eight state races on the ballot plus for the head of government in Mexico City. The central highland state of Guanajuato was predicted to go to a candidate of the conservative National Action Party.
While Lopez Obrador, 64, held a commanding lead in polls heading into Sunday’s vote, he worried many who fear he could set the country back decades and lead to disaster with an interventionist economic policy.
“I am concerned that some candidates are making proposals that are impossible, because they’re very expensive to carry out,” said Juan Carlos Limas, 26, who lined up at a Mexico City precinct to vote for Ricardo Anaya, who was running second in polls for a right-left coalition.
Lopez Obrador, who cast his ballot early Sunday, has pledged to give scholarships or paid apprenticeships to youth and increase support payments for the elderly.