How is each of the 4 candidates for the Mexican presidency positioned in the official polls?

Leer en español: México 2018: ¿Qué proponen los candidatos?

On April 1 of this year, the presidential campaigns began in Mexico. What are the main proposals of the four candidates? And how is each one positioned in the official surveys?

The most popular candidate, who has been campaigning for more than a decade, is Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He heads the movement of national regeneration and seeks the presidency through the coalition "together we will make history". All the polls place him in first position surpassing by more than 5 points his contenders; his main proposals are the following:

• Decentralize the federal government. He plans that the majority of the secretaries and organs of government be distributed throughout the 32 states of the republic
• Build two tracks in a military airport called "Santa Lucia". This in order to reverse the current project of the New International Airport of Mexico City.
• To suppress jurisdiction and privilege to the president of the republic. This proposal raises the possibility of trying a president for cases of corruption or other crimes
• The construction of two refineries to process crude oil, as well as the remodeling of existing ones

In the majority of the polls, Ricardo Anaya, candidate for the coalition "for Mexico in front", is in second place. He faces investigations for alleged money laundering and was repeatedly accused of dividing his party (National Action Party). between him and Margarita Zavala; his proposals are the following:

• Universal basic income in Mexico. It aims to eliminate existing social programs by arguing that they are susceptible to clientelism, instead it would give a salary to all Mexicans just because they were born in the nation.
• Wage parity in gender, as well as the gradual increase of the minimum wage
• Reduce VAT by half in the border area with the United States
• A citizen commission to investigate acts of corruption by public officials. In addition, he proposes that every official present a patrimonial, fiscal and interest declaration.

José Antonio Meade is in third position at the beginning of the campaign. Flagman of the ruling coalition "Todos por Mexico", former secretary of different government bodies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Finance and Public Credit; his proposals are the following:

• Give continuity to the reforms approved in the presidency of the current president Enrique Peña Nieto. The most controversial reforms have been energy, education, and tax.
• Multiply the public transport networks, with an emphasis on the Metro of Mexico City and the suburban train.
• Create new Special Economic Zones in order to attract more investment to the country.
• Unify Social Security care in any of the existing clinics of current public health systems.

Finally, Margarita Zavala will enter the ballot as an independent candidate, wife of former President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa and former member of the National Action Party. It will carry with it the war against organized crime and the violence that prevailed in the sexennium of its spouse and will fight against the predominant party system in the country; his proposals are:

• Unify the police in a national system
• Eliminate funding to political parties as well as advertising spending on government spots.
• Fight corruption by strengthening the "national system of corruption" as well as the creation of a body within the presidency of the republic.
• Promote and make credit more flexible for young people in order to boost economic growth.

Each of the candidates will have three months to reinforce their positions, through official debates and government spots. The race for the presidency has begun and nothing is written along this path, it will be interesting to see over these weeks what will be the topics that occupy the agenda of the national and international media.

Latin American Post | Jorge Francisco Vuelvas Lomeli

Translated from "México 2018: ¿Qué proponen los candidatos?"