Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Local Polls

The PRI appears likely to improve its grip of Torreón politics in July; according to Milenio, it enjoys a double-digit (28 percent to 18 percent) lead among those polled in the fifth district (one of two here in town), a lead that extends to 20 points (55 to 35) when only likely voters are taken into account. In the sixth district, the general lead is 8 points (26 to 18), while the likely-voter advantage is 16 (53 to 37).

The reason for the turnaround in what used to be a reliable PAN stronghold? Security. Under a PAN mayor, Torreón went from being a sleepy and prosperous town to setting records for murders. In contrast to national polls that increasingly show a nation far more worried about economics than crime, 57 percent of respondents to a Milenio poll said that insecurity was the worst problem facing the region, besting unemployment by 20 points. Seventy percent of respondents to a poll from El Siglo said that the region is less secure in 2009 than last year, while 77 percent labeled the region as "unsafe" or "very unsafe". The PRI takeover may not make much of a difference, but those are the kinds of numbers that get incumbent parties tossed out.

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