 |
|
|
 News Around the Republic of Mexico | December 2006 
Calderon Sworn in as Mexico President Amid Protests
 Kieran Murray - Reuters
| | Mexican lawmakers fight during a brawl in Congress shortly before Felipe Calderon was due to be sworn in as the country's new president in Mexico City December 1, 2006. (Henry Romero/Reuters) |
Felipe Calderon was sworn in as Mexico's president on Friday despite fierce protests from leftist lawmakers who say he stole July's election and had vowed to stop him from taking the oath of office in Congress.
Surrounded by bodyguards, the conservative Calderon slipped into the main hall of Congress through a back entrance, quickly declared the oath of office and put on the presidential sash before being rushed out again.
Dozens of rival lawmakers earlier threw punches and chairs at each other and leftists had built barricades of chairs in a an attempt to block the main doors and prevent Calderon from entering the building.
Calderon earlier replaced outgoing President Vicente Fox, an ally and fellow conservative, in a solemn midnight ceremony at the presidential residence in Mexico City.
Mexico's constitution says the new president automatically takes over on December 1. But it also requires that the incoming leader takes an oath of office and left-wing opponents who say Calderon stole July's election had wanted to wreck the formal inauguration ceremony in Congress.
"I do not ignore the complexity of the political situation or our differences, but I am convinced that today we must put an end to our disagreements," Calderon, 44, said after taking over from Fox in the midnight ceremony and swearing in key cabinet members.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a fiery anti-poverty campaigner who narrowly lost the election, called a protest march to Mexico's national concert hall, where Calderon was to deliver a speech later on Friday.
"They violated the constitution and trampled on Mexicans' dignity. They imposed him with a coup, and we are living with the consequences," Lopez Obrador told thousands of supporters in Mexico City's vast central square.
The bitterly contested July 2 presidential election has split Mexico, with left-wing parties claiming it was rigged.
Conservative and leftist lawmakers attacked each other in an ugly brawl in Congress earlier this week, and fighting broke out again on Friday morning. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us