Mexico presidential election: where things stand

Mexico's four remaining presidential candidates will square off on June 12 in the last of three nationally televised debates ahead of the July 1 general election.

The second debate, which took place late Sunday, was marked by limited discussion of policies and frequent personal attacks.

Utilizing a novel format, the candidates answered questions from a live audience of voters on questions on how they would handle US President Donald Trump, wage disparities between the US and Mexico, corrupt officials and the treatment of migrants.

Notably absent from Sunday's topics of discussion were pending US steel tariffs, tension with Venezuela, and the role of China in Mexico's economy, with much of the discussion hanging on Nafta and migration.

On Monday, Mexican stocks and the peso showed little reaction to the sparring between leftist frontrunner Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Morena, PES, PT), his chief contender Ricardo Anaya (PAN, PRD, MC), ruling party candidate José Antonio Meade (PRI, PVEM, PANAL) and independent candidate Jaime "El Bronco" Rodríguez Calderón. Former first lady Margarita Zavala dropped out of the race in the days leading up to the debate and did not appear.

Banorte-IXE, in a pre-debate analysis, offered the following break down of candidate standings in the most recent polls.

El Financiero's poll, released May 14, included information showing that a total of 38% respondents had either not chosen a candidate or acknowledged they may consider changing their vote.

Policy highlights

Between theatrics and repeated attacks, the candidates did bring a number of relevant policy positions into the debate.

Countering years of stated opposition to Nafta, López Obrador (aka, AMLO) said, "We agree with the free trade agreement, we must make the most of the relationship with the US, a relationship of friendship and of mutual respect – that is what I propose."

AMLO mentioned recent reports that the US sought to integrate high-paying jobs into the rules-of-origin section of the treaty – a contentious issue for automakers at the center of that issue – saying the treaty needed to include provisions that press employers to raise wages. The candidate said that wage improvement needed to be written into Nafta 2.0 – a position that negotiators from Canada and the US have similarly voiced.

He also proposed an additional agreement beyond Nafta, whereby Canada, the US and Mexico sign a pact to foster development in Central America as part of a coordinated strategy to reduce illegal migration from the subregion.

Addressing wage disparity, Anaya proposed raising the minimum wage an additional 100 pesos (US$5) per day and doubling the wage within four years.

Both Anaya and "El Bronco" addressed lowering the VAT along the US border – an issue of key importance to northern states that saw the VAT equalized to 16% with the rest of the country as part of 2014 fiscal reforms.

Rodíguez Calderón, a former governor of the northern state of Nuevo León, proposed lowering it to 10% from 16%, while Anaya one-upped the independent saying it needs to drop to 8% to help those areas closest to the US gain a competitive edge over neighboring businesses north of the border.

Pictured: At the debate, from left, Rodríguez Calderón, Anaya, Meade, López Obrador.