MEXICO CITY - Felipe Calderon was declared president-elect Tuesday after two
months of uncertainty, but his ability to rule effectively remained in doubt
with rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vowing to lead a parallel leftist
government from the streets.
The unanimous decision by the Federal Electoral Tribunal rejected allegations
of systematic fraud and awarded Calderon the presidency by 233,831 votes out of
41.6 million cast in the July 2 elections - a margin of 0.56 percent. The
ruling cannot be appealed.
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Mexican president-elect, Felipe Calderon,
speaks to his supporters at his party headquarters in Mexico City, Mexico
on Tuesday Sept. 5, 2006. Felipe Calderon became president-elect of Mexico
on Tuesday, two months after disputed elections, when the nation's top
electoral court voted unanimously to reject allegations of fraud and
certify his narrow victory. [AP]
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Calderon now must win over millions of Mexicans angry that President Vicente
Fox, who is from Calderon's party, didn't make good on promises of sweeping
change - and fend off thousands of radicalized leftists who say they will
stop at nothing to undermine his presidency.
Calderon invited opposition parties, including Lopez Obrador's Democratic
Revolution, to begin talks to try to end the two-month-long electoral standoff.
"We can have different opinions, but we aren't enemies," he said.
Lopez Obrador, whose support is dwindling but becoming more radical, said he
will not recognize the new government.
"I do not recognize someone who tries to act as the chief federal executive
without having legitimate and democratic representation," Lopez Obrador told
followers at Mexico's main central plaza, the Zocalo.
Lopez Obrador has vowed to block Calderon from taking power Dec 1. Protesters
outside the tribunal wept as the decision was announced and set off firecrackers
that shook the building.
"We aren't going to let him govern!" Thomas Jimenez, a 30-year-old law
student, screamed as hundreds of protesters threw eggs and trash at the
courthouse.
The decision by the seven judges - who have split their votes in
disputes about other elections - also found that Fox endangered the
election by making statements that favored Calderon, and that business leaders
broke the law by paying for ads against Lopez Obrador, who promised to govern on
behalf of the poor.
But the problems weren't serious enough to annul the results, they said.
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