MEXICO: Mexican leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador threatens to protest against the disputed presidential election result for year

Mexican leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Sunday (August 13) he would lead protests against the presidential election for years if an electoral court officially declares his conservative rival the victor. Speaking to a rally of thousands in Mexico City the leftist, who claims the election he narrowly lost to Felipe Calderon was fraudulent, said he would keep fighting even if the country's electoral court ruled against him. "We will not allow an illegitimate and illegal government to be installed in our country," he said. "We are prepared to resist for as long as is necessary, and we could be here for years if the circumstances merit it." The court must declare a new president by September 6. Calderon, favoured by the business community in Mexico and internationally for his support of free-market, low-tax policies, says the election was free and fair. Lopez Obrador suggested his supporters protest outside the offices where Calderon would be declared president if the court does not accept the leftist's claims of major irregularities at polling stations throughout the country during and since the July 2 vote. Attendance at Sunday's rally in the capital's giant Zocalo square, estimated at about 20,000 people, was much lower than at similar meetings held most weekends since the election. For more than two weeks supporters, often accompanied by Lopez Obrador, have been protesting the election result by camping out in the square, the symbolic centre of power in Mexico since the country was ruled by the Aztecs. Others camping on a long section of Mexico's historic Reforma Avenue have frozen the centre of the city, slashing hotel occupancy rates in the popular tourist zone. Lopez Obrador called for a major rally in September to decide the future political role of his resistance movement -- which this week blocked Mexico's stock exchange, foreign banks and government offices. Lopez Obrador is a former mayor of Mexico City who has promised to end two decades of free-market reforms and help the poor with welfare programs and infrastructure spending A partial vote recount at 9 percent of polling stations ordered by the court last week is due to be completed on Sunday. Lopez Obrador says the recount shows that more than 100,000 votes were wrongly tallied initially and wants the electoral court to annul the results at thousands of polling stations and declare him the winner. He is also calling for a vote by vote recount at every polling station in the country. Calderon says the election was clean and that a total recount is not needed. European Union electoral observers say they detected no major irregularities in the election. On Saturday Lopez Obrador's supporters swung open toll gates at several important highways across the country, and leaders from his left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution called for a tougher nationwide campaign of civil disobedience.

ITN Source | August 14, 2006

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