Mexico’s old guard in dramatic return to power

Mexico’s old rulers have claimed victory in a presidential election, ending 12 years in opposition after a campaign dominated by a sputtering economy and rampant drug violence.

After pledging to restore order and ramp up economic growth, Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) had a clear lead over his rivals in exit polls and a quick count conducted by electoral authorities.

Although his main rival said it was too early to concede defeat, the 45-year-old Pena Nieto delivered a late-night victory speech to cheering supporters, and a senior electoral official said the PRI candidate’s lead was irreversible.

“Mexicans have given our party another chance. We are going to honour it with results,” a visibly moved Pena Nieto told followers packed inside the PRI headquarters in Mexico city.

Jubilant supporters waved banners sporting caricatures of their candidate and his trademark quiff, and confetti in the red, green and white of the Mexican flag — and the PRI’s colours — rained down inside the hall.

Outgoing president Felipe Calderon congratulated Pena Nieto on his triumph, which completed a dramatic comeback for the PRI.

With returns in from more two-thirds of polling booths, Pena Nieto had 37% of the vote, more than four percentage points clear of leftist rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. His lead was slowly widening as the night drew on.

Initial projections by Milenio television suggested the PRI had not won enough votes for an absolute majority in either the Senate or the lower house of Congress. Pena Nieto’s advantage was much less convincing than the PRI had hoped for, with most polls in the immediate run-up to the election showing he would win by 10 to 15 percentage points.

Having run Mexico as a virtual one-party state for most of the 20th century, it was ousted in an election 12 years ago and was seen by many as being on its death bed when it finished in third place in the 2006 presidential vote.

Renowned as much for his slick appearance as his political skills, the handsome Pena Nieto gave a fresh face to the PRI, helping to instil discipline. It was a humiliating defeat for conservative president Felipe Calderon’s party, worn out after a dozen years in power.