MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mexico City Mayor Sounding Like Candidate

It's a moment for the reaffirmation of democracy,“ Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. ”On that topic there cannot be a step back.”

Smiling and speaking with the next election in mind, Lopez Obrador said that during the 15 to 20 minute session he invited Fox to join him in doing their best to make the 2006 balloting "clean, free and peaceful."

The meeting came days after the government dropped its case against the mayor, clearing the way for him to seek the presidency and easing a political dispute that Fox's office said had placed Mexico's democracy "in doubt."

Though not yet a declared candidate, Lopez Obrador is nevertheless leading in most polls for Mexico's top office. His success in surmounting the criminal charges appears to represent another boost for the rising tide of charismatic leftist leaders in Latin America, although the mayor has refused to identify himself with that current.

Asked if he was moving to the center to run for president, the mayor responded that "the left was in the heart" and can't be denied.

He appeared to be already stumping Friday night, saying an economic accord, rather than one pertaining strictly to migration, was the best way to protect millions of Mexicans who head to the United States illegally in search of work.

"What we are proposing is a change in economic policy, but that does not mean implementing radicalism," he said, adding, "the topic of the migrants is the principal topic in the bilateral agenda."

Prosecutors were considering charges against Lopez Obrador on allegations he was slow in obeying a court order in a land dispute, but later dropped the case, saying legal codes contained no punishment for the offense.

The mayor had accused Fox of using the charges to block him from running for president ? something the president denied. Fox is barred by law from seeking a second term.

Besides seeking peace with Lopez Obrador himself, Fox must now work to soothe relations with the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which had joined the president's party in pressing charges against the mayor.

"What he's doing isn't solving the problem. Instead, he's just trying to please everybody," grumbled PRI party spokesman Sergio Martinez Chavarria. PRI congressional leader Emilio Chuayffet accused Fox of "violating the rule of law in search of reconciliation."

Fox's spokesman, Ruben Aguilar, acknowledged that the decision to drop the charges against Lopez Obrador was "for reasons of state."

"The president decided to reconcile the rule of law with the continued development of democracy," he said.

Many said that little now stands between Lopez Obrador and the presidency.

"His path to the presidency now seems to be paved with gold," said political scientist Federico Estevez. "I don't really see what they can do to stop him."

Lopez Obrador was already planning his presidency earlier in the week, telling a local radio station he was thinking about setting up his office in the centuries-old National Palace on Mexico City's main square ? rather than use the park-like presidential residence known as Los Pinos built in the 1930s.

The palace space better fits Lopez Obrador's brand of handout programs and political largesse. In the last century, its huge patios were often thronged with favor-seekers waiting for a chance to see the president.

Even the mayor's language seemed more presidential. He polished up a new campaign slogan, borrowed from Independence hero Jose Maria Morelos, saying he wants to "moderate both indigence and opulence" in Mexico, reflecting a more centrist image and his concern about the unequal distribution of wealth.