Ruling Party Loses Ground In Mexico

The ruling party’s once-ironclad grip on power loosened a bit more on Monday as early election results showed it losing several important cities in Mexico’s largest state.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, appeared to have lost at least three of the five largest cities in sprawling Mexico state, an urban belt around the capital. It also suffered lesser losses in the northern state of Coahuila and the rural central state of Hidalgo.

The PRI has ruled Mexico since 1929, often maintaining power through patronage, strong-arm tactics and outright fraud.