Mexico City - Former interior minister Mr Francisco Labastida moved to the forefront in the Mexican presidential race for 2000 after winning landmark primary elections of the ruling party by a landslide.
Mr Labastida (57), a free-market economist and lifelong bureaucrat, on Sunday won 272 of 300 districts in the first primary elections held by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which has been in power for 70 years.
With a strong mandate from the PRI and with an Opposition that has been unable to agree on a proposed broad coalition, Mr Labastida heads into the campaign for the July 2000 elections in a position of strength, analysts said. The PRI also gained a strong boost after Mr Labastida's main rival, ex-Tabasco governor Mr Roberto Madrazo (47), accepted the results of Sunday's vote.
