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Leftist lawmakers steal stage from President Fox
As expected, President Vicente Fox, Dubya's good buddy, did not deliver his speech today, verbally that is. He just handed in his report and went home. I kind of feel bad for Fox's wife, Marta, she put on a nice dress for a night out and it all ended early.
| quote: | POSTED: 8:55 p.m. EDT, September 1, 2006
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- Mexican President Vicente Fox was forced to cancel his state-of-the-nation address Friday after opposition lawmakers stormed the stage inside the Congress building to protest disputed July 2 elections.
The protest began minutes before Fox was scheduled to deliver the last state-of-the-nation address of his presidency.
Lawmakers ignored demands that they return to their seats, shouting "Vote by Vote" -- the rallying cry of leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's bid for a full recount in the disputed election.
The lawmakers held placards calling Fox a traitor to democracy.
It is the first time in modern Mexican history a president hasn't given the annual address to Congress. Instead, he handed in a written copy of his report.
Fox's office said he would address the nation in a televised speech later Friday.
Thousands of Lopez Obrador's supporters have been camped out for weeks in Mexico City and had vowed to march on Congress to prevent Fox from speaking.
Congress' president, Jorge Zermeno, adjourned the session after the leftist lawmakers refused to clear the stage. It was uncertain whether Fox would deliver his address. There was no sign the president had arrived at the congressional building.
Fox's office said hours before the speech that the president was planning to arrive in a motorcade, ruling out the possibility he would arrive by helicopter. But officials said he could just drop off his written, annual report, then go home.
Fearing violent protests, authorities surrounded Congress for up to 10 blocks with multiple layers of steel barriers; attack dogs in cages, ready to be released; water cannons; and riot police in full protective gear. Entire neighborhoods were sealed off, preventing some of the city's sprawling markets from opening, and nearby subway stations were shut down.
Police used mirrors and dogs to inspect cars for explosives before allowing them to pass, and opposition lawmakers said police even tried to prevent them from arriving despite their credentials. Some said they were pushed and shoved by authorities.
"It's completely militarized around here. It is completely illegal, unconstitutional," Democratic Revolution congressman Cuauhtemoc Sandoval told The Associated Press. "Vicente Fox started out as a president, and is finishing up as a dictator."
Many had feared the deepening political turmoil over the election to replace Fox could explode into violence, but leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called on his supporters to remain peacefully gathered in Mexico City's Zocalo plaza, instead of marching on Congress as they had previously planned.
"We aren't going to fall into any trap," he told tens of thousands who waited in a driving rain to hear him speak.
Lawmakers from each party opened the session with speeches, many of which criticized Fox and talked about his lack of accomplishments.
"Vicente Fox is a traitor to democracy, and even worse, he's leaving the country having turned it into a powder keg," said Edgardo Cantu of the Labor Party, part of Lopez Obrador's coalition.
The standoff comes six days before the top electoral court must declare a president-elect or annul the July 2 vote and order a new election. So far, rulings have favored ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon.
Calderon didn't attend the speech, saying Friday: "I just ask that all political players act as statesmen."
Lopez Obrador has already said he won't recognize the electoral court's decision, and he plans to create a parallel government and rule from the streets.
The tense situation was a far cry from the optimism and enthusiasm that followed Fox's victory six years ago. That election ended 71 years of one-party rule and prompted the world to declare Mexico a true democracy.
But on Friday, exactly three months before Fox steps down, protesters occupying Mexico City's center said they were ready to do whatever it takes to support Lopez Obrador. Fernando Calles, a 26-year-old university professor, said he was ready to fight for the former Mexico City mayor "until the death, until the final consequences."
"We lived 500 years of repression, and now we represent the new face of Mexico," he said.
The tight election left the nation deeply divided, with Lopez Obrador -- who portrayed himself as a champion of the poor -- alleging that fraud accounted for an official count showing him 0.6 percent behind Calderon.
Fox, a former Coca-Cola executive, ushered in economic stability and brought inflation to record lows, but he has been unable to secure a migration accord with the U.S. or significantly reduce poverty.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed by sensorium purely for personal enjoyment and/or intellectual growth. |
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This just keeps better and better. I wonder what El Grito! is going to bring. It should be more interesting than what happened today.
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