“…Political competition in Latin America, including Mexico and Argentina, frequently revolves around strong personalities rather than more institutionalized entities (Roberts,2 For example, in analyses of vote intentions and choice in the 2000 Mexican elections, Estévez & Poiré (2001) find that left-right self-placement predicts support for presidential candidates; Moreno (2003) reports similar results for that race and for that year's congressional elections. 3 While not the focus of this study, it is worth noting that individuals may also attach an affective or emotive meaning to these terms (see, for example, Cobb & Elder, 1973;Conover & Feldman, 1981). 4 Political symbols are typically conceived of as having both affective and cognitive components (Cobb & Elder, 1973; but see Sears, Lau, Tyler, & Allen, 1980 who emphasize ''affective preferences'' that lack a more rational cost-benefit calculus).…”