Leftist leader gains in Mexico

MEXICO CITY — Leftist firebrand Andrés Manuel López Obrador appeared to cement his hold over Mexico's main opposition party Monday after a key ally declared himself the winner of a bitterly fought leadership race.

Alejandro Encinas, a former deputy to López Obrador, claimed victory in the campaign to be president of the left-leaning Democratic Revolution Party, based on samplings of Sunday's vote conducted by two polling companies hired by the party.

The contest pitted adherents of López Obrador's confrontational style of politics over moderates represented by Encinas' main rival, former federal lawmaker Jesus Ortega.

Ortega said he was waiting for the party's final tabulation, expected Wednesday. The "quick counts" gave margins of four and eight percentage points for Encinas, who succeeded López Obrador as mayor of Mexico City.

But Mexico's media widely reported that Encinas had won the post.

The outcome could be bad news for President Felipe Calderón and his conservative government. Analysts said the populist López Obrador probably will assume a more strident posture, especially in opposition to possible reform of the nation's energy industry.

"We are going to see a much more confrontational line with the government of Felipe Calderón," said Alfonso Zarate, a political analyst. López Obrador "has not only the social muscle but the party apparatus, too."

López Obrador has threatened to have his supporters block oil wells, roads and airports to head off any reforms that would allow private investment in the state-owned oil company, Pemex, a change proponents say could boost Mexico's reserves.

Calderón has yet to propose a detailed energy plan but has suggested that changes are needed to tap new sources in the deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

López Obrador summoned followers to Mexico City today to demonstrate against the possibility of privatizing Pemex. The event, planned weeks ago, coincides with the 70th anniversary of Mexico's decision to nationalize oil holdings.

The outcome of Sunday's vote within the Democratic Revolution Party, known by its initials in Spanish as the PRD, was clouded by scattered clashes between competing camps and numerous reports of vote manipulation.

Nonetheless, party officials overseeing the balloting declared that most problems were relatively minor and that the final results, when announced, would be considered valid.