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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | July 2006 
Politician Blasts PRD Candidate
 Ioan Grillo - AP
| | César Nava |
The general-secretary of the nation´s ruling party accused presidential candidate Andres Manuel López Obrador on Sunday of heading a "schizophrenic" movement that turns suddenly from peaceful dialogue to aggressive confrontation.
López Obrador has called for demonstrations and filed a court challenge to vote counts that show he lost the July 2 election to National Action Party (PAN) candidate Felipe Calderón by less than 0.6 percent.
César Nava of the PAN criticized promises by López Obrador aides to expand protests against alleged election fraud.
"It´s a new threat that reflects the schizophrenia in the movement headed by Andres Manuel López Obrador," Nava said. "Their lack of respect for the law knows no limits."
López Obrador and supporters are demanding a ballot-by-ballot recount of all 41 million votes cast. So far the protests and marches have been nonviolent.
The Federal Electoral Tribunal has until Aug. 31 to rule on the fraud allegations.
López Obrador Carries on Fight
James C. Mckinley Jr. - El Universal
As he fights his loss in court, the candidate in the July 2 election says he has been the victim of a broad conspiracy among the incumbent, election officials, other party leaders and business tycoons to rob him of the presidency.
The candidate, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, charged in an interview on Friday that the vote had been plagued by fraud and widespread human errors. He made it clear he would not accept any ruling from the special electoral court short of an order to recount all 41 million ballots.
How far he would take acts of civil disobedience to protest the results would be guided by "the feelings of the people," he said. Without a recount, he said, the peace of the country is in jeopardy, a threat his opponents have said amounts to blackmail.
Two weeks ago, an official vote tally showed the conservative candidate, Felipe Calderón, of the National Action Party, had won by a narrow margin of 243,000. A special electoral court must still rule on hundreds of challenges before approving the results and naming a victor.
FRAUD ALLEGATIONS
López Obrador has been playing a game of brinksmanship, frequently appearing on television to hurl allegations of fraud and leading mass demonstrations to demand a recount.
He contends he has found errors in arithmetic in some 72,000 polling places - more than half of the total. He also maintains he has found evidence of fraud in which poll workers took votes away from him or padded the vote for Calderón in dozens of polling places. He has held two marches attended by hundreds of thousands of people and has called on his followers to engage civil disobedience.
STRATEGY
One problem now for López Obrador is how to maintain his movement´s momentum before a decision from the tribunal without spurring his supporters to violence. He has managed to cry fraud while still keeping his protests peaceful. But as the weeks wear on, that balance may become harder to maintain. The tribunal has until Aug. 31 to rule.
López Obrador has challenged Calderón to agree to a recount. Even if Calderón agreed, however, the decision would still be up to the tribunal.
"If he is sure of having won, he doesn´t have any reason to refuse a recount," López Obrador said. "Because if he should win, it would strengthen him. He would obtain legitimacy that he doesn´t have because of the unfair way the election was carried out." |
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