MEXICO CITY, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon wants to hike spending on fighting organized crime and drug gangs by 39 percent next year, as rampant violent crime poses the biggest test of his presidency.

Calderon requested the increase in his government's 2009 budget proposal, submitted to Congress on Monday, but did not give details of how he would spend any extra funds.

"I have asked for this increase of nearly 40 percent because we know that today security, justice and order are the principal challenge facing Mexico," Calderon said. Opposition parties are expected to back the request.

A surge in drug gang killings to more than 2,700 so far this year, as powerful cartels battle the army and each other, and a wave of often fatal kidnappings, triggered a protest march of more than 150,000 people in the capital last month.

Tens of thousands of spectators at a soccer match at the weekend also wore white to protest the crime wave.

Mexico has long ranked with conflict zones like Iraq and Colombia among the worst countries for abductions, yet the recent kidnapping and murder of the son of a high-profile businessman sparked an outcry from the crime-hardened general public.

Calderon responded to the end-August protest march by vowing to intensify a crackdown on violent crime, which is often the work of local gangs working for drug cartels.

The conservative president has made curbing drug violence the central plank of his presidency, but bloodshed has only increased since he sent some 45,000 troops out across Mexico to wage war on the country's powerful cartels.

His crackdown is set to be aided in the months ahead by the arrival of $1.4 billion worth of helicopters, surveillance gear and training from the United States.

Congress must approve next year's budget by November 15. (Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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