Mexico president's ruling party wins governorship of country's most populous state

[Judi Lynn]

1. Mexico's rulers clinch opposition bastion ahead of presidency race

By Dave Graham
June 5, 20239:07 PM CDTUpdated 7 hours ago

MEXICO CITY, June 5 (Reuters) - Mexico's ruling party comfortably captured a major historic stronghold of the opposition in an election on Sunday, consolidating President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's hold on power ahead of the battle to succeed him next year.

Lopez Obrador's leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) won the State of Mexico gubernatorial contest by more than 8 percentage points, according to preliminary results from the state's electoral institute.

The victory adds Mexico's most populous region to the 21 other states MORENA already controls, now more than two-thirds of the total. Another state is governed by a group allied to MORENA, giving the party a huge power base heading into the presidential elections due to be held on June 2, 2024.

Sunday's result also consigned Mexico's erstwhile political powerhouse, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), to a new nadir, marking another milestone in its replacement by MORENA as the country's establishment party.

More:
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexicos-rulers-scoop-up-opposition-bastion-ahead-presidency-vote-2023-06-05/