In Mexico, World Cup Overwhelms Politics

MEXICO CITY -- World Cup 1, Politics 0. The world's top soccer tournament begins June 9 in Germany, and that means Mexico's presidential race _ just like almost everything else in the country _ will grind to a virtual halt for as long as the national team keeps winning.

"Soccer is first. The craziness surrounding soccer is second. Then there is the rest of the world," said writer and social critic Carlos Monsevias.

Ranked sixth internationally, Mexico opens play June 11 against Iran. Pollsters say all three major presidential candidates already have trouble getting Mexicans to care about them _ and that sharing the national stage with soccer will only make things tougher in the final weeks before the July 2 vote.

"Up until now, the campaign hasn't awakened a major interest. We are seeing 37-38 percent interested," said Jorge Buendia of Ipsos Bimsa polling firm in Mexico City. "The World Cup will distract the population even more."

Trying on national team jerseys at an open-air market, Marisol Jimenez acknowledged the importance of the election, but said the World Cup takes precedence.

"It's very exciting to have everyone stop and watch Mexico," said Jimenez, a 23-year-old student. "Everyone is unified, not divided behind different candidates."

For most of Mexican history, winning candidates were hand-picked by the president and elections fixed by the ruling party. More recently, parties have courted voters with carefully staged rallies, bringing in supporters to cheer and enjoy free lunches.

But candidates' speeches seem long on promises and short on specifics, leaving many voters disillusioned. Some of the candidates have responded by trying to bask in the soccer stars' reflected glory.

Felipe Calderon, the bespectacled lawyer and economist representing outgoing President Vicente Fox's conservative National Action Party, has made the sport a campaign theme. Calderon has compared himself to Mexico's world champion under-17 national team. His campaign has staged soccer games where he shows off his ball-handling skills for the media.

Roberto Madrazo, whose Institutional Revolutionary Party controlled Mexico's presidency from 1929 until losing to Fox in 2000, plans to fill soccer stadiums with screaming supporters watching the national team play on big screens.

"We have taken it into consideration and circled the dates of the World Cup," he told The Associated Press.

Surveys show a tightening race between Calderon, Madrazo and former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who prefers baseball to soccer.