Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
In Mexico's mid-term elections, voters elected an independent governor and President Enrique Peña Nieto's party maintained control of Congress amid heavy troop presence and protests.
That's according to preliminary results Monday.
Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, known as El Bronco, looks poised to take the office of governor in the northern state of Nuevo León, becoming the first independent candidate to gain such an office, according to preliminary results.
"I think this is what these elections will be remembered for more than the violence," NPR's Carrie Kahn told Take Two from Mexico City. "To put it into context, there's never been an independent candidate running in Mexico. It's pretty much a three-party system."
It also appears that President Enrique Peña Nieto's ruling party, Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and its allies have maintained control in congress.
But these victories came amid protests and violence, especially in the country's southern states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Guerrero – where the ongoing disappearance of 43 students has prompted continued pressure on the Peña Nieto government.