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 Editorials | At Issue | September 2006 
Mexican Authorities Investigate Left-Wing Groups Tied to Candidate
 Deutsche Presse Agentur
| | The revolutionary upsurge in Mexico marks a new and dramatic stage in the Latin American revolution. On the very doorstep of the most powerful imperialist state in the world, the masses are moving into action on an unprecedented scale, posing a direct threat to capitalism and imperialism. |
Mexican authorities said they were investigating alleged violent acts planned by radical groups that support leftist politician Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose supporters this weekend proclaimed him the country's "legitimate president." Government information shows radical groups tied to Lopez Obrador's For the Good of All coalition allegedly intended to perpetrate acts of violence during the traditional "Cry of Independence" ceremony held on Friday night, presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said at a press conference this week.
Some leaders of the leftist camp have demanded that the government present evidence of their alleged plans. But the spokesman said the groups "have (the proof) themselves."
Threats from "radical groups" and fears that demonstrations could turn deadly led Mexican President Vicente Fox to change the site of the weekend's Independence Day celebrations. Fox cancelled his celebrations at the National Palace and moved them to the historic town of Dolores Hidalgo, in the state of Guanajuato.
However, Mexico City's authorities denied the threats were legitimate, and the capital's interior minister Ricardo Ruiz said the federal authorities had not mentioned the risks to him last week.
"We were never given that information - either it was hidden from us as the capital's government, or there is no such thing," he said.
Aguilar also criticized Lopez Obrador for his continued refusal to recognize the official winner of the July election, and said that conservative Felipe Calderon will be inaugurated as planned on December 1.
Hundreds of thousands of Lopez Obrador's followers on Saturday proclaimed him the country's "legitimate president" in what they billed as a National Democratic Convention.
Lopez Obrador lost the July 2 vote to conservative Felipe Calderon by 0.56 percentage points, but has said he believes the election was fraudulent.
Lopez Obrador's supporters plan to "inaugurate" him as their president on November 20, the Day of the Mexican Revolution.
The Lopez Obrador camp has also vowed to disrupt Calderon's inauguration and has said it will not to allow the president-elect to complete his six-year presidential term.
The latest moves by the former presidential candidate have been criticized over the past few days by some intellectuals and politicians within the Mexican left.
Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, the founder of Lopez Obrador's Party of Democratic Revolution (PRD), has accused the former mayor of Mexico City of eroding the country's left wing and of lacking long-term thinking. |
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