 | It's going to get ugly south of the Rio Grande. |
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico's leftist presidential candidate, who is contesting his rival's election victory, told followers Sunday the country needs a "radical transformation" and he plans to draft a new constitution.
| No need to pass along any advice, he knows everything that Mexico needs. |
Lopez Obrador, who claims fraud and dirty tricks robbed him of the presidency, has said he will never recognize a victory by Calderon and will declare himself the alternative president.
| So much for respecting the constitution, the elections and the process. |
The country's Federal Electoral Tribunal has until Wednesday to declare a president-elect or annul the vote. With the tribunal likely to declare Calderon president-elect, Lopez Obrador has escalated his protest. He has called supporters to a mass meeting in Mexico City's central plaza to plot strategy on Sept. 16 - the same day and place Mexico's army stages an annual Independence Day parade.
| Suggesting that he might try to turn the army to his side that day. |
The former Mexico City mayor, who portrays himself as Jesus in his Second Coming the savior of the poor, also plans to hold a "democratic convention" that day in which he will declare his rebellion parallel government.
| That's called a 'coup' in most places. He's just begging to be smacked down. |
Reiterating his claim that the nation is run by a small elite, Lopez Obrador said Sunday he plans to summon convention delegates from across the country who would decide on calling an assembly to draft a new constitution. Mexico's current constitution dates to 1917 and was the result of the country's bloody revolution that broke out in 1910. "We don't want cosmetic changes," Lopez Obrador told thousands gathered in Mexico City's main plaza, the Zocalo, where he has been sleeping in a tent for five weeks to protest the election results.
| Not to pour cold water on this, Your Highhandedness, but shouldn't a constitution be drafted by representatives from all the people and then put to a vote at some point? |
Lopez Obrador exhorted his followers to "sustain the resistance" while keeping it peaceful. "We have a historic responsibility to rescue the republic," Lopez Obrador said. "We don't want the republic to be dominated by private interests." |