1.   A charismatic campaigner and a former opposition governor of Guanajuato state, Fox is running neck-in-neck with Labastida in polls.

2.   But six other opposition party governors joined Franco last week in Belo Horizonte, his state capital, for a strategy session.

3.   However, during his term in office, Zedillo has steadfastly refused to lower taxes or concede greater autonomy to opposition governors, analysts said.

4.   His congratulations to a new opposition governor also conveyed an impression of democratic change.

5.   In contrast, the PRI often seems forgotten in this state capital, even though until just three years ago the state had never had an opposition governor.

6.   Statehouses fell to opposition governors.

7.   The party, known as the PRI, has lost so many elections that opposition governors and mayors now run much of the country.

8.   A new opposition governor in Chiapas also has pledged to restart the peace talks.

9.   Chihuahua is the second Mexican state ever to elect an opposition party governor, after Baja California.

10.   Despite the delay in revealing the austerity measures, opposition governors won in several key races.