Mexico City – President Vicente Fox refused to deliver his state-of-the-nation report to Congress on Friday after leftist lawmakers seized control of the stage. It was the first time a Mexican leader hasn’t given the annual address.
Fox’s office said he would give a televised speech to the nation later Friday, exactly three months before he steps down. The written copy of his address called on Mexico to mend deep divisions that he said threatened the country’s newfound democracy.
“Whoever attacks our laws and institutions also attacks our history and Mexico,” Fox said, a veiled reference to leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. “No one can say that he supports the people when he attacks it.”
The fast-paced developments followed weeks of tensions over the disputed July 2 presidential race.
The opposition lawmakers waved Mexican flags and held placards calling Fox a traitor to democracy. They ignored demands that they return to their seats, shouting “Vote by vote” – a rallying cry for Lopez Obrador’s bid for a full recount in the July 2 election.
They raised up leather-covered copies of the Mexican constitution and flashed the sign for victory as they stood at the front of Congress while the 102 senators and 462 representatives sang the national hymn to close the session.
The standoff came six days before the top electoral court must declare a president-elect or annul the July 2 vote and order a new election. So far, rulings have favored ruling-party candidate Felipe Calderon.
Lopez Obrador has already said he won’t recognize the electoral court’s decision, and he plans to create a parallel government and rule from the streets.
Fearing violent protests, authorities earlier surrounded Congress for up to 10 blocks with multiple layers of steel barriers; attack dogs in cages, ready to be released; water cannons; and riot police in full protective gear. Entire neighborhoods were sealed off, preventing some of the city’s sprawling markets from opening, and nearby subway stations were shut down.
Police used mirrors and dogs to inspect cars for explosives before allowing them to pass, and opposition lawmakers said police even tried to prevent them from arriving despite their credentials.
Some said they were pushed and shoved by authorities.
“It’s completely militarized around here. It is completely illegal, unconstitutional,” Democratic Revolution congressman Cuauhtemoc Sandoval told The Associated Press. “Vicente Fox started out as a president and is finishing up as a dictator.”
Many had feared that the deepening political turmoil over the election to replace Fox could explode into violence, but Obrador called on his supporters to remain peacefully gathered in Mexico City’s Zocalo Plaza instead of marching on Congress as they had previously planned.
