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Mexico elections: How 5 local issues could impact the next president

Mexicans will elect 128 senators, 500 deputies, six governors, the mayor of Mexico City, and their new president tomorrow. Some of these key local races will have implications for the new president's mandate, and the governing party's ability to pass much needed reforms.

A capital at odds with greater Mexico

Mexicans will vote for the mayor of Mexico City on Sunday as well, and polls are strongly favoring the PRD candidate, former local attorney general Miguel Angel Mancera. It is no surprise. Outgoing PRD Mayor Marcelo Ebrard leaves with sky-high popularity ratings, as did his predecessor, Mr. Lopez Obrador, when he left in 2005. The leftists have been in control of the capital for the past 15 years. But this election shows how much their power has consolidated, and how the capital is now more at odds than ever with the rest of the country, which is tilting PRI.

Mr. Ebrard, who is expected to head the 2018 leftist PRD ticket for president, is widely popular for making Mexico City more livable, from erecting a giant ice skating rink in the historic downtown to establishing bike routes throughout the city center. Under his term he also legalized gay marriage and abortion, two issues that are rejected in the rest of the country.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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