MEXICAN STATE'S CAMPAIGN CLOSELY WATCHED, CONTESTED

Former governor, drugs and money are leading issues

CANCUN, Mexico--Despite the ritz and glitter of Cancun, most residents of
the Caribbean coastal state of Quintana Roo live in poverty -- something
they hope will begin to change after today's governorship elections.

Voters in Quintana Roo and the central state of Hidalgo will choose
governors, state lawmakers and mayors. With the 2000 presidential a year
away, the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, hopes to beat
back challenges by opposition groups.

While the ruling party holds a strong lead in Hidalgo, the race is much
closer in Quintana Roo, in part because of the stark contrast between
tourist wealth and wages -- about $40 a week for the average hotel worker, a
bit above the minimum of $25 a week -- and the image of outgoing Gov. Mario
Villanueva.

Federal police are investigating Villanueva for alleged links to drug
traffickers. Political opponents accuse him of authoritarian rule over the
last six years.

Joaquin Hendricks Diaz, the ruling party's candidate for governor, admits
the state has a serious problem with traffickers who bring South American
cocaine to the coast, and then transport it across Mexico to the United
States.

"There have been public servants who have become corrupt and participated in
drug trafficking, and that has motivated the traffickers to focus on
Quintana Roo," Hendricks said. Still, Hendricks invited Villanueva to his
closing campaign rally and has said he will not join in the "witch hunt"
against the outgoing governor, a PRI colleague.

Hendricks, a former army officer, is running about even with his nearest
rival in the governor's race, Gaston Alegre of the Democratic Revolution
Party.

Hendricks implies that his military background is a guarantee of his
rectitude. But many fear that Hendricks would continue Villanueva's
heavy-handed style.

"The residents of this state are tired of the constant abuse of authority
under Mario Villanueva," said Francisco Lope Mena, candidate for the
conservative National Action Party, who came third in a January poll with
about 30 percent of voter preferences.

Fernando Gomez, a street vendor in Chetumal near the Belize border, hopes a
close race might in itself signal that change is near.

"For a long time we have always voted for the PRI. There were hardly any
other parties," he said. "But the only way that things are going to change
is with another party."