
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, November 29, 1993                   TAG: 9311290024
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MEXICO CITY                                LENGTH: Short

MEXICAN PARTY TAPS CANDIDATE

The party that has governed Mexico for more than 60 years named public works chief Luis Donaldo Colosio as its presidential candidate Sunday, virtually assuring that he will be the Colosio country's next leader.

The announcement by the Institutional Revolutionary Party's national chairman, Fernando Ortiz Arana, ended months of speculation on who was going to be its standard-bearer.

The party, known by its Spanish initials, PRI, has not lost a single presidential election since it was founded 64 years ago.

Colosio, 43, is a native of northwestern Sonora state and a close friend of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Both carried out postgraduate studies in the United States. Colosio holds master's and doctoral degrees in urban economic development from the University of Pennsylvania.

The election is next Aug. 24.

by CNB