Mexican Presidential Election and Latin American Political Trends Explored in UCSB Affiliates Lecture

UC Santa Barbara political scientist Kathleen Bruhn will examine the 2006 Mexican presidential election and highlight important trends in contemporary Latin American politics on Thursday, April 20 in a Town Forum lecture sponsored by the UCSB Affiliates.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who leads the polls in the July 2 Mexican presidential vote, is a former Mexico City mayor popular for his promise to end two decades of free-market reforms and to put the poor first.

His party, the Partido de la Revolucion Democratica (PRD), includes the remnants of Mexico's Communist and Socialist parties and the leftist wing of the old PRD.

In the last five years, leftist presidents have taken power in seven Latin American countries.

The program will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall at 21 East Constance Avenue in Santa Barbara.

The cost of the lecture is $8 for UCSB Affiliates, History Associates, and Chancellor's Council members; $10 for others. Contact the UCSB Office of Community Relations at 893-4388 to register, as space is limited.

Bruhn, who specializes in comparative Latin American politics, is the author of "Taking on Goliath," a book about the political left and changes in the political party system in Mexico since the mid-1980s, and is co-author with Dan Levy of "Mexico: The Struggle for Democratic Development."