According to an Associated Press report out of Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, Chávez went on the air to accuse "the Mexican right" of manipulating Chávez´s often controversial image "as a wedge ... to stop the rise of the Mexican left and its presidential candidate," López Obrador.

In recent days, the center-right National Action Party (PAN) has been running media spots criticizing López Obrador for statements he has made about President Vicente Fox, a member of the PAN. The ads show Chávez, and imply an association between him and López Obrador.

The adverts shows Chávez lambasting Fox shortly after the Summit of the Americas last year. It then cuts to López Obrador´s criticisms of the president, including his now-famous branding of Fox as a screeching bird, or "chachalaca."

The ad ends with the written phrase "No to intolerance."

López Obrador has in the past brushed off comparisons of him with Chávez. "They can say I´m similar or not to whoever, but what they can never accuse me of is being a thief," is one of his common responses.

The PRD candidate, still leading all the polls in advance of the July 2 vote, arrived in Ciudad Juárez Tuesday on a campaign stop where he planned to discuss his foreign policy objectives. At the airport, reporters asked about Chávez´s comment, but López Obrador chose not to address the issue.

His closest competitor, the PAN´s Felipe Calderón, has increasingly employed the tactic of comparing López Obrador to Chávez, who is often accused of demagoguery and a reckless style. Recently, Calderón accused the PRD of allowing Chávez supporters to become directly involved in López Obrador´s campaign.

President Fox indirectly chimed in on that strategy Tuesday, unleashing another broadside against "demagogic proposals" and "populism," two buzzwords often used to criticize both Chávez and López Obrador.

"We have paid a high price for populism, for demagogic proposals and for irresponsibility with the budget," Fox said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "Mexicans don´t even want to smell" those things.