Mexico election may determine future leadership of PRI

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico (Reuters) -- Mexico's balmy Gulf coast state of Tabasco went to the polls on Sunday to cast ballots for governor, a race expected to determine the future leadership of a party thrown from power in July after 71 years at the nation's helm.

Some 1.1 million Tabascan voters began trekking to the polls at 8 a.m. to pick from a field of 11 candidates, a list led by front-runner Manuel Andrade of Mexico's long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). His main rival was Raul Ojeda of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).

Behind the ballots, most analysts say the real race is for the leadership and future of the crippled PRI. A win by Andrade was widely expected to propel Tabasco's current governor, Roberto Madrazo, to the party's national presidency, while a loss would leave the party with uncertain leadership and a murky future.

"The intention has been clear: a loss by Andrade for the governorship would strip Madrazo of all possibility of aspiring to the national mantle of his party," wrote columnist Francisco Cardenas Cruz in the local daily Novedades de Tabasco.

The mood in this jungle region was edgy ahead of the poll as reports of vote-linked scuffles, voter bribery and pressure flowed in. Clashes between PRI and PRD supporters have been reported from across Tabasco's lowlands, including a Saturday incident in which a gun was reportedly fired into the air to stop the violence.

The blame was bandied about between the two dominant political camps. The PRI accused its rival of stirring up violence ahead of the vote, while the PRD said it was trying to impede the PRI from buying votes in exchange for food, appliances and construction materials.

"It would be worth the trouble asking the governor of the state if he is ready to recognize the citizens' will for change," PRD President Amalia Garcia told reporters on Saturday night. "It seems he is resisting this."

Human rights and citizens groups, meanwhile, took their laces to observe an election they say has been largely rigged in the PRI's favor. The groups claim Madrazo has spent outlandish sums to promote his handpicked successor, with pro-Andrade advertising blanketing the capital, while his tight grip on local media has yielded scarce coverage to the opposition.

For his part, Madrazo pledged in a Friday television address that all votes would be respected and urged Tabascans to work to advance the construction of a democracy that is "increasingly broad and enduring."

Madrazo's candidate, the 35-year-old Andrade, has vowed to revive Tabasco's economy by building up new industries and has concentrated on youth, women's and elderly issues during his campaign.

Ojeda, a 48-year-old hotelier, has also promised to bolster new industry and rein in corruption.

Exit polls and rapid counts were expected to be released in the hours after the 6 p.m. close of the polls. Official results from Tabasco's electoral watchdog (IET) were expected in the late hours of Sunday or early on Monday.

Regional strongman Madrazo is barred by law from re-election in the southeastern state he has run since 1995.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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