Lopez Obrador Supporters Begin Mexico March to Protest Election

[bemildred]

July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Thousands of supporters of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador began marching to Mexico City's central square, the second large-scale protest in a week to demand authorities invalidate presidential election results showing he lost to governing party candidate Felipe Calderon.

The march today will better gauge Lopez Obrador's national support as it comes one week after the former Mexico City mayor called on supporters to converge on the capital to demand a ballot-by-ballot recount of the July 2 vote. Lopez Obrador, 52, filed claims challenging the election results in Mexico's electoral court, alleging fraud and government interference.

Lopez Obrador, who said increased spending to aid the poor would be his government's priority, drew about 280,000 supporters to this Mexico City square July 8, according to local police. Calderon of the National Action Party beat Lopez Obrador by 243,934 votes, according to the electoral institute.

``The demonstrations are a way to put pressure on electoral authorities,'' said Jose Antonio Crespo, a political scientist at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching, a Mexico City- based think tank. ``If there are fewer people than last week, Lopez Obrador's position to pressure the court will weaken.''

Bloomberg

[Vidar]

1. More power to them.

[Joanne98]

2. YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

[Demeter]

3. Show US How, Neighbors! That's a Policy We Could Learn From

[bullimiami]

4. so fraudulant elections are fine if they can get away with it.

and the court which is supposed to oversee this wont do anything unless they are pressured into it.

[Rose Siding]

5. So familiar. Reuters says last week's protest maxed at 100K

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who pulled a crowd of 100,000 protesters last weekend, hopes for an even bigger demonstration of support at a march through the city's main Reforma avenue.

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=12853467&src=rss/ElectionCoverage

So how many will be "less" than last week?

But this is what really stood out when I read the Reuters piece earlier-

"But despite Lopez Obrador's ability to put his supporters on the streets, a poll in the Reforma daily on Saturday showed most Mexicans do not agree with his call for a recount."

Sad, huh? But WAIT. What was the poll question?:

"But the question put to interviewees in the poll did not mention the allegations of fraud. It only asked if the votes should be counted a third time."

A THIRD time????? Even the article notes that last week's "recount" only re-tabulated the tally sheets WITHOUT counting vote for vote.

So familiar.

[Judi Lynn]

9. You bet it's familiar! How many ways can a reporter and editor

bend and twist the facts?

If they broke down and simply GAVE US THE DAMNED NEWS, we wouldn't know how to act. As it is now, and you well illustrated, it takes more time because we have to sift through the articles to understand what they're concealing, or misrepresenting altogether.

[fasttense]

6. Thanks bemildred, for posting this

I was looking for news on the Mexican election. Though I think the American public's ADD has kicked in and has moved on to other issues.

[druidity33]

10. agreed...

i searched yesterday and couldn't find a lick of info...

[IndyOp]

7. I got an email from a member of AMLO yesterday - Lopez Obrador's

party - he said they were expecting many 100,000's of people to appear at the demonstration. I am eagerly awaiting pictures!

[Laotra]

11. AMLO

is short for Andreas Manuel Lopez Obrador IIRC. The party is PRD.

Power to the people!

[IndyOp]

16. Yes, and my contact who works with Lopez Obrador's

campaign says he works with "AMLO." Yes, I know it is stands for Lopez Obrador's name.

My guess is that many who work with AMLO feel more connected to the candidate than the party (PRD)...

:hi:

[Gregorian]

8. Long live democracy!

Fight the conservatives and fascists who hate democracy. Go people, go. Let your words be heard. Let your votes be real.

[EFerrari]

12. Kick

[ProgressiveEconomist]

23. Kick

[ProgressiveEconomist]

27. Kick

[muryan]

13. This seems less like democracy

and more like a power grab to me.

[High Plains]

14. Are you sure you're on the right board?

Mobilizing supporters to demand a recount as per the law is a power grab?

[muryan]

26. I'm talking about the fact that

He has made himself the central figure in this situation, as opposed to the disgressions of the opposing party. I view this as "Hey everybody look at me they did mean things to me." Not a movement to uphold the tenants of democracy.

[Judi Lynn]

28. Could you explain how what you have read leads you to this claim?

"Hey everybody look at me they did mean things to me."

I've never seen that sentiment revealed. I'd like to get a good long gape at the material you read which conveys this truth.

Someone may have been indulging in some exceedingly odd journalism. Nothing I've seen remotely approaches your claim.

The digressions of the opposition party? He has more than enough evidence, has spoken of it, has made some of it public already.

[Henny Penny]

15. lol!... But you forgot the "sarcasm" didn't you??? n/t

[IndyOp]

17. Watch this video -

Florida Con Salsa - a Greg Palast report
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/12/146201

It include video of a PAN supporter stuffing the ballot box. :eyes:

It seems to me that this is less of a power grab and more of an attempt to respect the votes cast by the voters, to have a government to which the people consent.

:hi:

[ret5hd]

18. thousands...HA! Again, HA!!!

hundreds of thousands, yes multiple hundreds of thousands.

pics here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1648224

[fire123]

19. According to Univision web page

About 1.1 million.

"1.1 millones de personas abarrotaban el Zócalo, lo que la haría la movilización más grande hecha en la ciudad de México".

http://www.univision.com/

[Judi Lynn]

21. Excellent!

Welcome to D.U., fire123!

[skids]

20. It's the Million Mexican March! Go Lopez Obrabor! n/t

[zonkers]

22. Does it bug anyone that many PRI officials are now some of Obrador's

closest advisors? And that he has the support of a very prominent PRI politician. PRI, the establishment party that had a stranglehold on Mexican Politics from the 60's to the 80's. (on edit)I understand many PRI are now in Calderon's camp, too. I just would like to know how folks feel about this. There just seems to be a very bizarre romantic attachment to Obrador on these boards. For the record, I have no horse in this race... all I know about Mexican politics, I have read up on in the past two weeks.

[Bridget Burke]

25. The PRD was founded in 1989.

Therefore, only fairly young Mexican politicians will be "100% pure PRD." Most members of PRD were formerly PRI. Some more conservative PRI'istas went over to PAN.

I've been reading about Mexican politics a bit longer than two weeks & think Lopez Obrador might be good for the country--if allowed to take office. I don't see him as a white knight.

What else do you dislike about "these boards."

[Judi Lynn]

24. Large protest in Mexico against election result

Large protest in Mexico against election result
By Adam Thomson in Mexico City

Published: July 17 2006 04:02 | Last updated: July 17 2006 04:02

Mexico City on Sunday hosted one of the biggest demonstrations in its history as people from around the country protested against the results of this month’s presidential elections and demanded a full recount of the vote.

According to local police, more than a million people marched on the Zócalo, the city’s main square, in support of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the losing leftwing candidate. Independent estimates suggested the turn-out was slightly smaller.
(snip)

But on the streets of Mexico City on Sunday, Mr López Obrador’s supporters appeared to be in a confident mood. On Paseo de la Reforma, one of the city’s main avenues, a group of Mexican youth sat on the roof of a lorry beating drums and chanting “vote by vote”, in reference to their insistence on recounting each and every one of the ballots cast.

People of all ages filed past holding posters saying “Hang on López Obrador, the people are rising up” and “We won”. One man dressed in black walked towards the Zócalo with a cardboard coffin balanced on his head with the word “Democracy” painted on the side.
(snip/...)

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e82c130c-153e-11db-b391-0000779e2340.html

[TheLastMohican]

29. Russia is getting STRONG

Hehe, Bushco, right back at ya'. Rememer Ukraine's elections? Stop clowning in our background or else.

(I am just kidding of course)

[lonestarnot]

30. Pressure them until they cook!