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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | December 2006 
Mexico's New President Plans Swearing In
 Ioan Grillo - Associated Press
| | Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon, drinks water while naming his top law enforcement and military Cabinet members in Mexico City, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006. In announcing the appointments, Calderon said he would not back down from appearing in Congress on Friday for his inauguration - despite leftist lawmakers camped out on the congressional stage who have vowed to block him. (AP /Eduardo Verdugo) |
President-elect Felipe Calderon vowed Thursday to be sworn in before Congress, despite leftist lawmakers trying to block his inauguration, and said he would have little patience for the political protests and drug violence that have tarnished Mexico's image.
Calderon insisted Friday's swearing-in ceremony must be held in Congress, where opposition legislators have been camped out for three days.
"This is what the constitution calls for," he said. "I'm not ignoring the complexity of the political moment or our differences, but I'm convinced that tomorrow we should put an end to our disagreements and begin a new era."
Calderon named military and security veterans as his top law enforcement aides. In departure from the hands-off approach of President Vicente Fox, he said he would crack down on criminals who "challenge the authority of the state."
"We have to confront crime with vigorous action," Calderon said.
He appointed Public Safety Secretary Eduardo Medina Mora as federal attorney general; Genaro Garcia Luna, director of the Federal Agency of Investigation, as public safety secretary, and two top military officials, Guillermo Galvan and Mariano Francisco Saynez, as defense secretary and navy secretary.
"Combating organized crime will be the priority," Medina Mora said. "The scenario in which we live requires that the Mexican government respond with all its force to challenge those that think they can go on breaking the law without any consequence."
A wave of drug-related violence has claimed more than 2,000 lives this year, many in execution-style killings and decapitations, and at least nine people have died in Oaxaca in demonstrations calling for the resignation of Gov. Ulises Ruiz.
Along with security, the Harvard-educated Calderon has said that creating jobs and reducing poverty are his top priorities.
But on the eve of the inauguration, it still wasn't clear where he would receive the presidential sash.
For the third day in a row, legislators from the ruling National Action Party and the Democratic Revolution Party were camped out Thursday on the stage where Calderon was to be sworn in, with Calderon's leftist opponents trying to spoil a ceremony that will be attended by dignitaries from around the world, including former President George H.W. Bush.
Democratic Revolution claims its candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, was the true winner, despite the Federal Electoral Tribunal's ruling that Calderon beat the leftist by less than a percentage point on July 2. Lopez Obrador has declared himself Mexico's "legitimate" president, and set up a parallel government designed to undermine Calderon.
In announcing the latest appointments, Calderon presented a tough image for a nation suffering from violent protests, political killings and beheadings by drug traffickers. But he didn't address how he planned to clean up Mexico's infamously corrupt police forces — a problem raised by the United Nations after a series of scandals went largely unpunished.
A coalition of Mexican human rights groups expressed particular concern about Calderon's Interior Secretary, Francisco Ramirez Acuna, who was accused of allowing state police to torture protesters detained during an international trade summit.
"Without a doubt, Calderon is going to be tougher about using force than Fox," said Mexican security expert Jorge Chabat. "As a lawyer, he will want to uphold the law and knows when there is a legitimate use of force. Fox thought any force was repression."
Fox, who ended 71 years of one-party rule when he took office in 2000, was hesitant to get involved in such conflicts.
"We may be able to be criticized for not acting with sufficient force, but we have never been repressive, ever," Fox's spokesman Ruben Aguilar said.
Fox spent his last day in office Thursday touring his home state of Guanajuato before ending his day at Mexico City's Basilica of Guadalupe, one of the most holy sites for Roman Catholics in Mexico.
The outgoing president has argued that Calderon automatically becomes president on Friday — with or without an inaugural ceremony. But the constitution also states that Calderon must be sworn in before Congress. It doesn't specify that the ceremony must take place in the congressional building, however.
Leftist lawmakers have refused to leave the section of the congressional platform that they occupy, and ruling party lawmakers are holding firm to the part they have been able to secure. The standoff will likely continue into Friday.
"We're never going to recognize Felipe Calderon as president," said Democratic Revolution Rep. Raymundo Cardenas. "If he isn't sworn in ... he isn't president." |
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