MEXICO CITY – Mexican leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador has a nearly 11 percentage point lead over his closest rival ahead of the July presidential election, a poll published by newspaper El Universal on Monday showed.

López Obrador has capitalized on deep unhappiness with widespread violence and corruption to fashion a commanding lead in the race for the next president, and has been striving to strike a balance between appealing to his leftist base and business leaders, who fear he could destabilize the economy.

The poll found that 42 percent of respondents say they would vote for López Obrador, a former mayor of Mexico City who has twice failed in presidential bids. He enjoys a lead of 10.9 percentage points over Ricardo Anaya, who leads a right-left coalition.  – NBC News