Using Chávez in Mexico

In what has turned into a politically bloody presidential race, one familiar name keeps appearing on Mexican television, radio, and in print: Hugo Chávez. There is no evidence to suggest that Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the left-leaning candidate, has ever met or spoken with the Venezulan president. Even so, Felipe Calderón – now in a statistical ...

608107_chavez7.jpg
608107_chavez7.jpg

In what has turned into a politically bloody presidential race, one familiar name keeps appearing on Mexican television, radio, and in print: Hugo Chávez.

In what has turned into a politically bloody presidential race, one familiar name keeps appearing on Mexican television, radio, and in print: Hugo Chávez.

There is no evidence to suggest that Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the left-leaning candidate, has ever met or spoken with the Venezulan president. Even so, Felipe Calderón – now in a statistical dead-heat with López Obrador – has been extremely successful at linking the two politicians.

Though a López Obrador victory would signal a turn to the left for some of Mexico’s domestic politics, there isn’t much behind the Chávez comparisons. For more analysis of the race, check out FP‘s interview with Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue about some of the intracacies of Mexican politics.

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