Most Mexicans thought Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had blown his chance of ever becoming the nation’s president when he finished runner-up in the 2012 election.

Mexico goes to the polls Sunday, July 1 to elect a new president, nine governors, 128 senators (32 by proportional representation), 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies (200 by proportional representation), plus a slew of state and municipal officers around the country.

The momentum is clearly with left-of-center candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is increasing his lead over his rivals in the presidential race, polls suggest.

The Reporter was started in 1963 by a journalist from Eugene, Oregon.

Leftist presidential frontrunner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrader weathered a barrage of attacks from his rivals at last Sunday’s first televised debate, which focused on governance and security, corruption and democracy.

Four of the five states registering the heftiest increases in violence in 2017 are not governed by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), José Antonio Meade, the party’s nominee for president, pointed out during his first visit to Guadalajara at the end of last month.