Mexican Left Creates 'Parallel Gov't'
Mexican Left Creates 'Parallel Gov't'
Sep 16, 8:36 PM (ET)
By LISA J. ADAMS
MEXICO CITY (AP) - President Vicente Fox celebrated Independence Day at the traditional military parade Saturday, while supporters of leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador massed at an outdoor gathering and acclaimed him leader of a "parallel government."
Fox reviewed thousands of military personnel from a vehicle that rolled through the capital's enormous Zocalo square one day after Lopez Obrador's activists agreed to permanently remove squatter camps that have snarled traffic in the capital's center for nearly seven weeks.
Small groups pushed up against barricades holding signs reading "Fox, crook" and "Vote by vote," a reference to their failed demand for a full recount of the July 2 presidential election that Lopez Obrador lost by less than 0.6 percent - a loss he attributed to fraud.
Others in the crowd cheered Fox and the new president-elect, Felipe Calderon of Fox's conservative National Action Party.
A military band played loudly over the conflicting groups and members of the president's security guard stood by to prevent violence. No major incidents were reported.
On Friday night, as holiday celebrations kicked off, Fox stayed away from the Zocalo, where Mexico's president traditionally issues "el grito," or cry of independence. He went to another city to avoid any confrontation with Lopez Obrador loyalists holding their own party on the square.
Lopez Obrador claims the election was tainted by fraud and refuses to accept Calderon's victory, which was certified this month by the country's highest electoral court. He accused Fox of illegally spending government money to help Calderon win, a charge Fox vehemently denied.
Sep 16, 8:36 PM (ET)
By LISA J. ADAMS
MEXICO CITY (AP) - President Vicente Fox celebrated Independence Day at the traditional military parade Saturday, while supporters of leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador massed at an outdoor gathering and acclaimed him leader of a "parallel government."
Fox reviewed thousands of military personnel from a vehicle that rolled through the capital's enormous Zocalo square one day after Lopez Obrador's activists agreed to permanently remove squatter camps that have snarled traffic in the capital's center for nearly seven weeks.
Small groups pushed up against barricades holding signs reading "Fox, crook" and "Vote by vote," a reference to their failed demand for a full recount of the July 2 presidential election that Lopez Obrador lost by less than 0.6 percent - a loss he attributed to fraud.
Others in the crowd cheered Fox and the new president-elect, Felipe Calderon of Fox's conservative National Action Party.
A military band played loudly over the conflicting groups and members of the president's security guard stood by to prevent violence. No major incidents were reported.
On Friday night, as holiday celebrations kicked off, Fox stayed away from the Zocalo, where Mexico's president traditionally issues "el grito," or cry of independence. He went to another city to avoid any confrontation with Lopez Obrador loyalists holding their own party on the square.
Lopez Obrador claims the election was tainted by fraud and refuses to accept Calderon's victory, which was certified this month by the country's highest electoral court. He accused Fox of illegally spending government money to help Calderon win, a charge Fox vehemently denied.
posted by Apuuli at 6:16 PM
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