A maverick former mayor became Mexico’s first independent candidate to win a governor’s seat, riding a wave of voter anger against the country’s traditional political parties. The news from Sunday’s midterm elections wasn’t all bad for President Enrique Peña Nieto, however: His ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and its allies appeared likely to keep a slim majority in the lower house of Congress, according to early official results. The runaway victory of Jaime “El Bronco” Rodriguez in Nuevo León state, an industrial powerhouse and home to some of Mexico’s biggest corporations, could spark a wave of independent candidacies nationwide for the 2018 presidential vote, a development analysts said might threaten traditional political parties’ grip on power.
“This is a clear message that the public is fed up with the political parties,” political analyst Jesus Cantú said. “This is historic.”
With about 20% of the vote counted, the former rancher and thrice-married father of six had garnered 49% of the vote, compared with 24% for Felipe Cantú of the conservative National Action Party, or PAN, and 23% for Ivonne Álvarez of the PRI. Mexican television networks declared Mr. Rodriguez the winner.
Full Article: Independent Wins Mexican Governorship – WSJ.
