This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A hotly contested state election in Mexico is heading to court after the president’s cousin was declared the victor amid widespread allegations of voter intimidation, vote buying and misuse of public resources.

Mexico opposition targets governor's race that would 'prove president's failure' Read more

Alfredo del Mazo Maza, the candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI), was declared the winner after early results in the state of Mexico gave him a two-point lead over Delfina Gómez of the leftwing National Regeneration party (Morena).

But with the vote so close, Morena – led by the populist firebrand Andres Manuel López Obrador – is refusing to accept the initial results. The full count will not be completed before 7 June, after which Morena will almost certainly seek that the election be annulled.

The PRI has governed the state (known as Edomex) for almost 90 years, and the vote was seen as a key indicator for next year’s presidential election.

Both parties simultaneously claimed victory shortly after polling stations closed on Sunday night, and the stage is set for another messy court battle over coming weeks.

The outcome will depend on whether other parties join forces with Morena to contest the results, or negotiate with PRI in order to limit the gains of López Obrador, who has emerged as an early favourite in presidential race.

López Obrador led weeks of protests in Mexico city after he refused to accept a a wafer-thin defeat to Felipe Calderón in the 2006 presidential election. He came second in the 2012 election – and again contested the result.

All the major opposition parties have accused PRI of using state and federal resources to ensure the party retained power in the state – the home turf of the president, Enrique Peña Nieto.



The Specialized Office for Electoral Crimes has received hundreds of complaints, many for alleged vote buying.

Juan Cortéz told the Guardian that he was one of hundreds of state government employees who were forced to work on the PRI campaign.

Cortez said that he set up committees of 10 people in a small community in the municipality of Tultitlan. Committee members were given cash benefits in exchange for assuring 10 votes each, which they did by telling their neighbours that the community would lose basic services and social programmes if the PRI lost, he said.

“Our job was to ensure people vote for the PRI, or don’t vote at all,” said Cortez, who requested his name be changed to avoid repercussions. “The tactics we’re forced to use are illegal but working for the government means we’re forced to work for the party.”

Cortez provided the Guardian with precise details about how community members were recruited, trained and benefited from social benefits. The PRI did not respond to a request for comment.

López Obrador, Mexico's austere populist, sees chance in rise of Trump Read more

Gubernatorial elections were also held in the states of Nayarit, where a left-right coalition emerged as the winner; and Coahuila, where both the PRI and rightwing PAN declared themselves winners after initial results. But those races were overshadowed by the size, location and economic weight of the state of Mexico.

Early results in Edomex suggested that the PRI actually shed more than a million votes since the last election six years ago. PRI’s freefall is closely linked to Peña Nieto’s sinking popularity amid widespread discontent about the struggling economy and rising violence.



“Keeping Edomex is a triumph for PRI and a very small victory for the president, but it’s come at a very high cost using public resources and practices, which will provide López Obredor with plenty of ammunition for next year’s presidential election,” said Pablo Díaz, adjunct professor of political sciences at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico.

PRI scraped a victory in part because the opposition failed or refused to form alliances, which ensured the anti-establishment and leftist vote was split between PRD and Morena, who together shared half the total votes. Morena, which is only three years old, made huge gains in urban areas.

“The presidential race will be about alliances, or the lack of them,” said political scientist Alvaro Arreola.