Mexico leftist presidential candidate says may roll back energy reform if elected

Leftist front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is pictured during a floral tribute to mark the 212th anniversary of the birth of president Benito Juarez, at the Hemiciclo a Juarez monument in Mexico City, Mexico March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ginnette Riquelme

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The leftist front-runner in Mexico's presidential race said on Wednesday that if elected he would consider passing laws to roll back the opening up of the country's oil and gas sector, the centrepiece of the current government's economic agenda.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, making his third presidential bid in the July 1 election, also pledged to cut violent crime by as much as half in a televised debate late on Wednesday ahead of the formal launch of the election campaign next week.