Mexico leftist election favorite likened to Chavez
Posted on: Monday, 14 November 2005, 17:08 CST
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A leading candidate for Mexico's presidential elections next year likened the leftist front-runner to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday, in one of the strongest attacks so far in the campaign.
Roberto Madrazo, the hopeful for Mexico's main opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, said election favorite Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador resembled the Venezuelan leader.
The comparison came as Mexico and Venezuela were embroiled in a diplomatic fight and withdrew their ambassadors from each other's countries.
Chavez, who critics complain is authoritarian and a populist, recently upset Mexico by calling President Vicente Fox a "lap dog of the empire" for backing U.S. plans for regional free trade.
"They have very similar attitudes. I see authoritarianism in them both, they think they possess the absolute truth and are in permanent conflict with capital," Madrazo told a news conference for foreign journalists.
He said Lopez Obrador, the former mayor of Mexico City, and Chavez both did not respect the rule of law and said foreign investors would shun Mexico if Lopez Obrador came to power.
"I foresee the capital flight that happened in Venezuela with Chavez's government that I don't want to happen here," he said.
He said Lopez Obrador had been in contact with Chavez aides but did not give further details.
The leftist leads opinion polls for the July 2006 election by some 10 points ahead of Madrazo, whose Institutional Revolutionary Party ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century before losing elections to Fox in 2000.
Madrazo, linked to the often corrupt old guard of his party, known as the PRI, easily won the nomination at primaries on Sunday.
His remarks came the same day that Mexico and Venezuela recalled their ambassadors in an escalating dispute over Mexico's close trade ties to the United States.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez announced the recall after Mexico threatened to withdraw its envoy if Caracas did not apologize by midnight on Monday for remarks by Chavez.
Source: REUTERS
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