MEXICO: Under fire, Mexico leftist threatens more protests

Mexico's government slammed the main opposition leader on Wednesday (August 02) for crippling Mexico City to protest alleged fraud in a tight presidential election, but his senior aides vowed to turn the screws even tighter. Meanwhile, in a televised message to the nation exactly one month after the presidential election, president-elect Felipe Calderon called for peace and claimed his party as the winner of the July 2 presidential and congressional race. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD is heading the protests to pressure Mexico's electoral court into ordering a full recount of votes in the July 2 presidential election he narrowly lost to the conservative ruling party's candidate, Felipe Calderon. Thousands of leftists have seized the capital's vast Zocalo square and the main Reforma boulevard in support of Lopez Obrador, causing three straight days of traffic chaos and drawing fire from the government. "We are not classical politicians, we don't have a pric. If they want an agreement they must first recount the votes, that's the condition," Obrador told his supporters one more time. Although this time, he said further actions should wait the court's decision. "The truth was with us, let me tell you that we were going to take action, but now we decided to wait one day, two days, three days until the courts reach a decision," added Obrador. While the protests have been very peaceful, analysts say the tactic could backfire by angering residents and alienating some of Lopez Obrador's former supporters. Lopez Obrador has apologized for the disruption caused by his followers setting up protest camps in the Zocalo, one of the world's biggest squares, and a six-mile (10-km) stretch of Reforma. But he insists it is a small price to pay and plans to extend the campaign of civil disobedience even further. Calderon is trying to take advantage. "A month ago, Mexicans participated in a clean and democratic eletion organized by millions of citizens. Many of you, or your next door neighbors, counted vote by vote everybody's decision. That day we, the PAN candidates, won the presidential and the congressional election. I want to thank those of you who voted for me. And let me tell those of you who didnt't that I would like to win your trust with my actions. Mexico is a democratic country. We have an independent Electoral Institute and an independent Court. Both institutions are trying to resolve our differences based on the rule of law and the respect for one another. That's why I've tried to act responsibly, avoiding incitements. Because I truly believe in the power of the peaceful and because we won a clean election, I'm asking all Mexicans to work for peace, to work together for a prosperous and fair country," said Calderon during a less than minute televised message to the nation. European Union observers say they found no evidence of fraud in the election, but Lopez Obrador says he has evidence vote returns were tampered with. He wants the electoral court to order a full recount. The court has until Aug. 31 to decide, meaning the political deadlock could drag on for at least another month. The uncertainty hit Mexico's financial markets earlier this week, although they rebounded on Wednesday. The peso currency gained 0.7 percent and the stock market was up 0.86 percent. Calderon won the election by a narrow margin of just 0.6 percentage points, and insists there was no fraud. His lawyers said on Wednesday they expect a recount of some ballot boxes but are confident the results will clearly favor Calderon. The new president will take office on Dec 1. Fox, whose election victory in 2000 ended seven decades of one-party rule, was barred under Mexico's laws from standing for re-election.

ITN Source | August 3, 2006

Tags:. .respect. .gained. .avoiding. .slammed. .opposition