Mexican front-runner fends off debate attacks

Atlanta Journal Constitution: The front-runner in Mexico's presidential race fended off rivals' attempts to paint him as a liar with corrupt backers, emerging from the first of two debates with analysts saying his large lead appeared safe.

Enrique Pena Nieto, the candidate seeking to return Mexico's former ruling party to the nation's highest office after 12 years, was accused of lying about his record as governor of the state of Mexico and maintaining ties to unsavory elements of his Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. read more

This is a debate? Mexico's presidential face-off a scripted affair

CSMonitor.com: "The front-runner in Mexico's presidential race, Enrique Peña Nieto, might have movie star looks and a seemingly unbeatable lead ahead of the July 1 election, but he also has a knack for gaffes when straying from the script.

So if anything is his to lose, it is the presidential debates, the first of which took place last night in Mexico City.

His opponents tried to put him on the spot: They attacked his term as governor in the state of Mexico, and suggested that if he won, the country would return to corruption and cronyism. His party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), ruled Mexico for 71 years, and is believed to have made pacts with drug cartels as part of their governing strategy. read more