Elections are a referendum on President Calderon
By Alfredo Corchado and Laurence Ilif
The Dallas Morning News
Mexico's midterm elections on Sunday will serve as a referendum on President Felipe Calderón's campaign against powerful drug cartels, analysts and observers say, as spasms of violence continue along the U.S. border and elsewhere.
More than 10,800 people have died in drug-related violence since Calderón took office in December 2006, and cities along the Texas border – especially Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso – have seen some of the worst carnage. More than 800 people have been killed this year alone in Juárez. Calderón has responded by sending tens of thousand of troops and federal police to Juárez and other trouble spots.
While Calderón isn't on the ballot in Sunday's elections, his standing is sure to affect the candidates for his National Action Party (PAN) in voting for 500 congressional seats, six governors and 565 mayors, analysts say.
"If the PRI wins, it is an end to the president's reform agenda," said Armand Peschard-Svedrup, a Mexico expert and president of Washington-based Pechard-Sverdrup and Associates, a consulting firm. "Security will be the one issue that will prevent Calderón from becoming a lame-duck president; it's the one issue that will help Calderón remain relevant at home and engaged in a bilateral agenda with the Obama administration. It's that simple."
