April 7, 2006

Confronting Chavez Wins Voters in Mexico and Peru

By A.M. Mora y Leon
This week, two amazing developments have begun to shift the electoral landscape in two Latin American countries in a conservative direction. We may have Hugo Chavez, the Castro—loving, petro—dollar fuelled president of Venezuela to thank for the just—emerging turn away from the left In Peru, and in Mexico, both of which are in the midst of hotly contested presidential campaigns, conservative candidates are starting to go for the jugular against their leftist opponents by linking them to Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. It's driving them both to leading positions in the polls and may win them their elections. Felipe Calderon of the PAN party in Mexico has run TV ads comparing the raging, invective—laced speeches of leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, to those of Hugo Chavez, who hurled abuse at Mexico's president last November, as we noted yesterday. Since then, Calderon has risen to first place in one poll   and to a close second place in a...(Read Full Article)