The army patrols Guerrero state in southwest Mexico after fighting between two regional drug cartels erupted in June 2017. President Enrique Pena Nieto has proposed a paramilitary police force to replace the military force deployed against the cartels.
A serious challenge from populist politician Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador awaits Mexico's ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in next year's presidential election. That's what polling data and the close results of the June 4 gubernatorial election in Mexico state suggest as Lopez Obrador looks ahead to a third presidential run in July 2018 after second-place finishes as the candidate for the Party of the Democratic Revolution in 2006 and 2012. Now leading his own party, the National Regeneration Movement, Lopez Obrador is in a statistical tie in recent polls with the PRI and National Action Party candidates. While a Lopez Obrador victory would be historic, his ability to make sweeping changes in keeping with his populist rhetoric will be greatly constrained . Even if Lopez Obrador wins the presidency, Mexico's political and economic path will remain relatively stable.
