A woman has been chosen as a major Mexican political party's pick for president for the first time. Josefina Vazquez Mota easily won the primary Sunday night for her National Action Party, which has ruled Mexico for over a decade. The 51-year-old had been President Felipe Calderon's education secretary, though she did not get his or PAN's backing in the primary. She won the primary with 55 percent of the vote, but in polls oriented toward the July 1 general election, she trails the Institutional Revolutionary Party front-runner by 20 points. Until PAN took over in 2000, PRI ruled Mexico for 71 years, and Mexicans are weary of the spike in violence that the PAN government's drug crackdown has triggered. PAN hopes a woman candidate will improve its shot of keeping power.
