Mexico in limbo after presidential elections

By Anna Gilmour

8/9/06

More than a month after the Mexican presidential elections on 2 July, the country still has no official president-elect. The preliminary results indicated that Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the left-wing Por El Bien de Todos (For the Good of All) alliance came a close second to Felipe Calderon, of the incumbent centrist National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional: PAN). However, with only 0.58 per cent separating the two, Lopez Obrador has declared the elections flawed and called for a recount.

With the close election result in July evidence of his nationwide popularity, Lopez Obrador is encouraging a series of peaceful demonstrations across the country, concentrated in his key support base of Mexico City, where he served as mayor between 2000 and 2005.

However, Lopez Obrador will have to be wary. At present, he is claiming that his actions are intended to "safeguard democracy", but if he continues calling for protests, or if any demonstrations turn violent despite his express wishes, he will be vulnerable to charges that he is obstructing the democratic process.