One state had a fiercely contested three-way fight for governor. Five others chose mayors and state legislators.
But voting Sunday was expected to stand more as a referendum on the waning popularity of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which has ruled Mexico for 66 years.Support for the party, known as PRI, has steadily dropped since a severe economic crisis hit Mexico three weeks after President Ernesto Zedillo took office Dec. 1.
Since then, the peso lost more than half its value against the dollar. Inflation soared from 7 percent in 1994 to an estimated 50 to 60 percent this year. More than 1 million jobs have been lost. Sales have declined sharply, and scores of businesses have closed every month.
"This election is a national plebiscite on the politics of the current federal government," Porfirio Munoz Ledo, chairman of the leftist Democratic Revolutionary Party, warned in a campaign speech.
In the west coast state of Michoacan, there was a close three-way race for governor among candidates from each of the three top parties. The state's 1.9 million voters also were choosing 113 mayors, and 30 state legislators.
Elections for state legislators and mayors were also held in Sinaloa, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Oaxaca and Tamaulipas. Those states have a total 6.6 million voters.
In Mexico City, 5.4 million voters were choosing 365 neighborhood council members, new offices created to deal with local problems in the metropolis of 12 million.