ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR promised a “transformation” that will sweep aside corruption in Mexico after the left-wing candidate won the presidential race by a landslide.

Thousands poured into Mexico City’s Zocalo square to celebrate Mr Obrador’s thumping victory, winning by a huge margin, with his Morena coalition also crushing the ruling conservative Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI) in local and state polls.

Initial results showed Mr Obrador with 53 per cent of the vote, way ahead of his rivals, the right-wing Ricardo Anaya from the National Action Party (PAN) and PRI candidate Jose Antonio Meade who conceded defeat.

Promising a new era in Mexican politics, he said: “The transformation we will carry out will basically consist of kicking out corruption from our country. 

“We won't have any problem with this because the people of Mexico are the heir of great civilisations and are smart. Corruption is not a cultural phenomena, but the result of a decadent political regime.”

Mr Obrador ran on an anti-corruption platform and claimed he could claw back 10 per cent of Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP) by taking measures to tackle it.

"We are absolutely convinced that this evil is the main cause of social and economic inequality and also that corruption is to blame for the violence in our country," Mr Obrador said in his victory speech.

But he warned that there would be no hiding places, even for so-called “brothers-in-arms” in his Morena coalition, saying: “A good judge starts in his own home.”

The campaign was one of the bloodiest in Mexico’s history, with 130 candidates and party workers assassinated and 145 journalists killed. 

According to Transparency International, Mexico is one of the most corrupt countries in the word, ranked 135th out of 180 states last year.

His victory was welcomed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who called Mr Obrador’s win “the triumph of truth over the lie.” He said it opened “the broad boulevards of sovereignty and friendship” between the two countries.

British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn thanked the Morning Star for its election coverage and praised the high turnout despite intense “violence and intimidation.”

“Amlo’s election is a reflection of people’s horror at the violence and corruption and the hope for a better and more equal country,” he said.

Mr Corbyn said he hoped the election was “a turning point in the fortunes of some of the poorest and the most dispossessed people in the world.”

Mr Obrador will take over on December 1.