MEXICO: Parties Formalize Candidates For Presidential Elections

(RTTNews) - Three Mexican politicians appeared Sunday as official candidates of the mainstream political parties to run for president this year. The elections are scheduled for July 1, and among the issues that stood out most in the pre-election campaign were corruption and violence.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is leading the ballot polls, will represent the left-wing party Morena. Obrador is in his third attempt to become Mexican president.

"We are not going to betray the people of Mexico. I am aware of my historical responsibility. I want to be remembered as a good president," Obrador said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Ricardo Anaya, a 38-year old lawyer, will lead the coalition between the Party of the Democratic Revolution (left-wing) with the conservative National Action Party (PAN). Anaya trails Obrador in the polls.

Former Treasury Secretary José Antonio Meade was ratified as a candidate by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, of the current Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto.

According to the media, there are still three other independent candidates waiting for the ratification of their candidacies. Among the independents are Margarita Zavala, wife of former president Felipe Calderón.