Calderon defies Mexico protests before taking power
Source: Reuters
(Updates with Calderon quote, details) By Kieran Murray and Adriana Barrera MEXICO CITY, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon defied leftist protesters on Thursday by vowing to hold his inauguration in Congress, risking clashes with opposition lawmakers who say he stole the July election. Political opponents are planning rowdy demonstrations to disrupt the swearing-in ceremony on Friday for the conservative Calderon and have warned him to go elsewhere for the inauguration to avoid trouble. "I will go to Congress, not on a whim or because of political strategy, but simply because the constitution demands it," he said. "I am not ignoring the complexity of the moment, or our differences, but I am convinced that tomorrow we must put an end to our disagreements." The bitter July 2 presidential election has split Mexico between left and right and left it reeling from civil unrest. Calderon officially takes power at midnight on Thursday in a low-key event at the presidential residence. But the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, has vowed to prevent him from taking the oath of office and receiving the presidential sash from his ally, outgoing President Vicente Fox, at a formal ceremony in Congress on Friday morning. That has raised the specter of more violence. Rival groups of legislators brawled in Congress this week and have occupied separate parts of the lower house's podium, where Calderon is to put on the sash. "I don't see how they can have a ceremony like the one they have announced, unless they drag us out of here with a crane or by force," said Javier Gonzalez Garza, who leads the PRD in the Chamber of Deputies. NARROW VICTORY Calderon won the election by less than a percentage point, while defeated leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador accused his opponent of massive vote-rigging, leading to street protests that paralyzed downtown Mexico City for six weeks. More street demonstrations are expected on Friday. Former U.S. President George Bush and Spain's Crown Prince Felipe are among the few prominent foreign dignitaries expected at the inauguration, set to start at 9:30 a.m. (1530 GMT). The president-elect this week named fellow conservative Francisco Ramirez Acuna as interior minister, an appointment that places a right-wing hard-liner in charge of handling leftist protests. The choice was condemned by leftist critics. In his last Cabinet appointments on Thursday, Calderon named Eduardo Medina, the current public security minister and an experienced crime-fighter, to lead the battle against Mexico's ruthless drug cartels. Nearly 3,000 people have been killed in the past two years in a war between rival drug gangs, one of the most pressing challenges facing the new government. The feud started along the U.S. border but has spread to the Pacific beach resort of Acapulco and Calderon's home state of Michoacan, where more than 500 people have died this year. "The problem of drug trafficking and organized crime has to be confronted with forceful measures, the right legislation, and more and better coordination between the different agencies responsible for public and national security," Calderon said. Calderon also named federal investigative police chief Genaro Garcia to the Security Ministry job. Despite the political unrest, Mexico's stock market rose 0.75 percent to hit a new closing high. It has soared 40 percent this year and 340 percent during Fox's six years in power. The peso currency dipped to a seven-week low on Monday on investor concerns about violent protests but has since rebounded with three straight days of gains.
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
