Acapulco - Mexico's left-leaning party bags Acapulco mayor's race

Mexico's left-leaning party bags Acapulco mayor's race

ASSOCIATED PRESS

October 4, 2005

MEXICO CITY – A motorcycle-riding former congressman won the race for Acapulco mayor six years after losing a bid to govern the Pacific resort city's home state.

Félix Salgado was just one of several winners of the left-leaning Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, which won a majority of seats in Sunday's municipal and legislative elections in Guerrero state.

In February, the PRD won the governor's office in the state, which had been dominated for seven decades by the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

The PRD won 41 of 77 cities up for grabs and 17 of 28 directly elected seats in the state legislature, officials election said. Eighteen seats will be divided according to a proportional representation formula.

The PRI won in 32 cities and took 10 directly elected legislative seats.

Salgado became known for his antics, including a drunken-driving arrest on his motorcycle and interrupting a session of Congress with a presentation of burned election ballots that he said were evidence of fraud by rivals in a 1990 election.

He staged massive protests in the state capital, Chilpancingo, in 1999 after claiming fraud in the governor's race, which he lost to a PRI rival by a little more than 14,000 votes.

Salgado was supported this year by Andrés Manuel &Lacuteopez Obrador, the leading presidential candidate for the country and former mayor of Mexico City, who noted that Salgado "is a bit foul-mouthed, but I can assure you he is an honorable man."

President Vicente Fox's National Action Party won three cities and one legislative seat.

Turnout was 47 percent.

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