Political Information and Image of Candidates in the 2006 Presidential Campaign: an Explanatory Model of Opinion Change at the Individual Level

Abstract

In this article we analize the patterns of change in candidate images among the Mexican electorates in the 2006 presidential race. We assess the extent in which opinion changes are explained by campaign information. Our empirical tests are based on panel survey data gatheredin the Mexico 2006 Panel Study. This research design consists of three waves of interviews among a national representative sample of Mexican adults: one wave was conducted before the campaigns, another towards the end of the campaign season, and the third was a post-election round. Our results show that the largest changes in opinion took place among individuals who were more frequently exposed to television news, but we also foun that the direction of change varies when controlling by political predispositions such as left-right ideological orientations.