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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Summer of Protest Awaits Mexico Over Mayor Case |
| 2005-04-11 |
| A long, hot summer of street protests may be in store for Mexico as the capital's combative leftist mayor fights a court case that could knock him out of the 2006 presidential race. Many Mexicans are worried about political violence and Wall Street investors are also on edge as Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has encouraged "massive civil disobedience" to oppose the minor charges he claims are a ploy to end his career. The mayor has pleaded with his followers to be peaceful. But the public and investors are concerned about potential highway blockades, occupation of government buildings or other disruptions that could cause chaos and violence. "People are going to be sweating about this all summer," said Vitali Meschoulam, a Latin America strategist at HSBC investment bank in New York. "I don't think this case is anywhere near over." Congress stripped Lopez Obrador of his legal immunity last week so he can face charges that he violated a court order in 2001 by building a road to a hospital over private land. The charges could force the mayor out of the 2006 race, in which polls show him to be a clear favorite. Lopez Obrador accuses President Vicente Fox and business leaders of leading the efforts to bar him. "This is only just beginning," Lopez Obrador told his supporters recently. He is currently at his suburban home awaiting a court's arrest order and jail. Mexico's stock market was unusually volatile last week, posting both its biggest one-day loss and gain of 2005, as investors tried to decipher how Lopez Obrador and his die-hard supporters would react in coming weeks. "That man is crazy," said advertising executive Miguel Ramirez as he rushed to lunch. "Anything can happen here, OK? You put Lopez Obrador and a million people in the streets and God knows what you get..." About 150,000 people took to Mexico City's streets in support of Lopez Obrador last week and another massive protest has been called for April 24... "All it takes is for one of these protests to go wrong," said Alfredo Coutino, an economist at the Center for Economic Forecasting of Mexico in Philadelphia. "Don't forget that the PRD has strong support in other states outside the capital. Those people might not listen to Lopez Obrador's request to be peaceful. And that's the problem here. When you get a tense situation, anything can happen." Why do I keep thinking of Ken Livingston? |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |