Mexico’s governing party retains power after mid-term election

[Judi Lynn]

1. Ruling party likely to gain while 1st independent candidate wins in Mexico elections

Ruling party likely to gain while 1st independent candidate wins in Mexico elections
Associated Press
June 8, 2015 | 2:29 a.m. EDT

By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO and KATHERINE CORCORAN, Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican voters elected their first independent gubernatorial candidate, seen as a protest against party politics, while giving the ruling party an inadvertent boost in congress, sending mixed messages in midterm elections.

President Enrique Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, lost seats in congress, according to official voting trends released late Sunday by the electoral institute. But a strong and controversial campaign by the Green Party, a PRI coalition ally, boosted the Greens by as many as 20 seats, which could give the ruling party a voting majority for the first time in nearly two decades.

"The PRI lost, but not very much," said Jesus Cantu, political analyst at the Monterrey Institute of Technology.

In an election marred by sporadic violence, independent Jaime Rodriguez, known as "El Bronco," was declared the unofficial winner of the governor's race in Nuevo Leon, ousting the PRI from a key state that is home to the powerful business hub of Monterrey. His popularity was attributed to voters' disgust with all political parties, each with its own corruption scandals.

More:
http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/06/08/ruling-party-leads-1st-independent-wins-in-mexico-elections