MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mexico City Mayor resigns to begin presidential bid

The mayor of Mexico City who has a comfortable lead in early polls for next year's presidential election resigned from his job on Tuesday to seek his Democratic Revolution Party's, PRD, nomination.

Manuel Lopez Obrador submitted a resignation letter to Legislative Assembly of the Federal District, that is, Mexico City, which, like most capitals is virtually an autonomous state.

"I hereby submit my resignation from the post of head of government of the Federal District that I have held since December 2000, with the purpose of taking part in my party's primary process which will nominate the presidential candidate", wrote Lopez Obrador.

The outgoing mayor who according to public opinion polls stands out as a clear winner in the run-up to the July 2006 election, made his resignation effective next Friday, said the president of the legislature's executive committee, Carlos Reyes.

Early this year, Mexico's Attorney General's Office charged Lopez Obrador with contempt of court and abuse of authority in connection with his disregard of a court order to stop building a road on land under litigation.

In April a Congressional alliance of the ruling PAN of President Vicente Fox and dissidents from the main opposition force, PRI, stripped him of his immunity from prosecution.

However following massive street support for the popular mayor, President Fox ordered the Attorney General's Office to shelve the mayor's case.

President Fox said the Executive decision was taken in order to "preserve democracy". Mr. Lopez Obrador who always pleaded innocence, accused Mr. Fox and former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari in office 1988-94, of having set up a plot to have him legally barred from running thus thwarting his presidential aspiration.

Mr. Lopez Obrador is scheduled to visit several South and Central American countries, particularly those which have a similar inclination to his socialist oriented policies such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Venezuela, Panama, etc.