Mexico Mayor Sets Up Telephone Poll on His Future

MEXICO CITY — Mexico City’s populist mayor urged residents to call a toll-free number Saturday and vote on whether he has earned the right to stay in office for the remaining 3 1/2 years of his term.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he will honor the results of the two-day phone referendum and resign Jan. 1 if residents of the capital don’t think he’s doing a good job.

Those dialing the number were told to push 1 to keep the mayor, or 2 to urge him to quit.

Lopez Obrador is a rising star within the leftist Democratic Revolution Party who boasts approval ratings of more than 64%. Many consider him an early contender for the 2006 presidency.

Only a few hundred residents had called during the first seven hours of voting, but 95% of those who participated said they wanted to keep Lopez Obrador as mayor, according to the government news agency Notimex.