MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The race to become Mexico’s next president has closed slightly, but former Mexico City mayor and ruling party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum still has double the support of her main opposition rival, an opinion poll showed on Monday.
A Nov. 17-22 survey of 1,000 Mexicans by pollster Buendia & Marquez for newspaper El Universal gave Sheinbaum, who represents the leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), 48% support, with her rival Xochitl Galvez back on 24%.
Galvez represents a three-way alliance of parties ranging from the center-left to the center-right. Samuel Garcia, who is competing for the candidacy of another center-left party, Citizens Movement (MC), polled 8% support.
One in five respondents expressed no preference for the June 2, 2024 election.
A poll published in early October had given Sheinbaum 50% support versus 20% for Galvez, although that survey included a fourth, right-wing candidate who did not feature this time.
Sheinbaum has the firm backing of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose approval ratings remain strong. Under Mexican law, presidents may only serve a single six-year term.
“With the entry of Samuel Garcia as sole MC contender, the presidential ballot has been practically set in stone,” Buendia & Marquez head Jorge Buendia wrote in El Universal.
He noted that Sheinbaum led in terms of image recognition as well as positive public opinion, and said Galvez’s main challenge was getting positive public recognition.
“The window of opportunity for the presidential hopefuls is the uninformed population,” Buendia added. “They are the segment which can most influence campaigns.”
Separately, an analysis of several polls by research firm Consulta Mitofsky which stripped out undecided voters and those not backing any candidate showed Sheinbaum with 62.7% of effective support. Galvez stood at 26.9% and Garcia on 9.3%.
(Reporting by Raul Cortes and Sarah Morland; Editing by Dave Graham and Andrea Ricci)
