MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mexico City paralyzed and more “civil resistance” promised

A month after Mexico's general elections and with still no president-elect, the legitimacy of the next administration and overall stability of the country depend on the Electoral Tribunal ordering a manual recount of ballots, argues the leftist coalition supporting Manuel Andres Lopez Obrador.

"Without a recount there will be no political stability in Mexico. We'll see a prolonged conflict and a president whose legitimacy will be questioned during his six-year term in office" pointed out former Foreign Secretary Manuel Camacho Solis and member of the Democratic Revolution Party, PRD, which alleges the July 2 election was rigged.

Mexico City has suffered a second day of traffic chaos as supporters of left-wing candidate Lopez Obrador have blocked key streets camping in the heart of the megapolis as part of the "peaceful resistance" campaign launched to demand the vote recount. The former mayor Lopez Obrador toured protest camps on Tuesday, after sleeping out with supporters.

Camacho said the ruling National Action Party, PAN and its presidential candidate, Felipe Calderon, should accept a "vote-by-vote" recount to "clear up doubts" surrounding election results, which PRD claims tainted by fraud and widespread "irregularities" and has challenged in the courts.

The autonomous Federal Electoral Institute, IFE, said Conservative Mr. Calderon won the July 2 election by a margin of 243,934 votes, 0.58% of ballots cast, over Lopez Obrador. EU monitors have said they found no irregularities.

However the Federal Electoral Tribunal, TRIFE, is examining the legal challenges to the result and has until September 6 to declare a president-elect. TRIFE could order a partial or full recount of the votes, (unforeseen in Mexican legislation) or even annul the election entirely, which is considered unlikely. However in that case an interim president would take over beginning December 1, when current President Vicente Fox mandate is up with new elections within 18 months.

Camacho said Lopez Obrador coalition is not seeking annulment of the elections, but rather a full recount that "gives legitimacy to the next president and avoids an escalation of the post-electoral conflict".

"If Germany, Costa Rica, Italy and other countries have been able to resolve their post-electoral situations after tightly contested elections, why in Mexico with such a minimal difference and so much disagreement, is there resistance to a vote-by-vote recount?"

"It should be in the interest of United States, Spain and other nations of Latin America and Europe for a recount to be effected, because this is the way to ensure stability". "But without a recount, we would have a leader without legitimacy and with little room to manoeuvre in fighting drug trafficking and managing the economy" added Camacho who was foreign secretary during the 1988-1994 administration of former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

Camacho said that in the event of a recount, Mexico's political parties should "negotiate a new political agreement, because Mexico will not be governable without profound institutional changes".

He added that if the recount effectively gives victory to Calderon, the Lopez Obrador coalition "will have the moral and political obligation to recognize it" and put an end to the protests that are being staged in the capital and which are planned to extend to the rest of the country.

Meanwhile Mr. Calderon accused Lopez Obrador of taking Mexico City hostage and before TRIFE argued that a recount was unnecessary.

"I had powerful, very charismatic adversaries - but I won clearly," he told the panel of seven judges.

Lopez Obrador on Sunday rallied his supporters to a gathering in the impressive El Zocalo square where anywhere from half a million to two million turned out. He called on his followers to peacefully paralyze the city until every vote was recounted.

"We are not going to turn to violence" he told the crowd. "Neither surrender, nor violence".