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A preliminary vote count in Mexico shows that Presidential candidate Enrique Pena Nieto is the winner, capturing 38% of the vote in yesterday’s elections. Nieto celebrated last night at the headquarters of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, in Mexico City, declaring victory and telling voters, “You have given our party a second chance and we will deliver results.” The PRI held Mexico’s Presidency and dominated politics for 71 years, ending in 2000 after years of accusations that the party was corrupt, authoritarian, and undemocratic. The left-of-center candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been found to have captured 31% of the vote. However, Lopez-Obrador has declined to concede the race until all votes are counted. The incumbent National Action Party’s Vazquez Mota won 25% of the vote and has conceded defeat. The PAN has held Mexico’s presidency for the past 12 years.

Enrique Pena Nieto had led the polls for weeks leading up to yesterday’s elections. However, many analysts commented that the polls did not effectively capture non-traditional voters. In fact Nieto won a smaller percentage of the vote than polls predicted. Also leading up to the elections were documented cases of media bias, and widespread instances of vote-buying. Lopez Obrador, who lost a 2006 Presidential bid by less than 1%, had stationed supporters at every single polling place to observe the voting.

GUEST: Laura Carlsen, Director of the Mexico City-based Americas Program of the Center for International Policy and a columnist for Foreign Policy In Focus, Miguel, a student with the Yo Soy 132 movement, camping out in the front of the Revolution Monument in Mexico City