Tempers fray as Mexico election crisis deepens
Police blocked streets around Congress to prevent the return of demonstrators who want to rebuild a tent city to protest what they say was election fraud.
With the imposing concrete building surrounded by police, no protesters went near Congress.
About 15 legislators from the left-wing party whose presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador narrowly lost the July 2 election were among those hurt on Monday when police tore down tents in their partially-built camp, tear gassed protesters and drove them back with clubs.
It was the first violence since the election protests began weeks ago.
Mr Lopez Obrador accused the government of repression. “They are revealing their authoritarianism, as in the worst moments of the country’s history,” he told supporters in Mexico City’s vast Zocalo Square.
Eduardo Medina-Mora, Mexico’s public security minister, defended the use of force yesterday.
“We regret the friction, but when it is inevitable, what can we do?” he said.
In another pressure move, dozens of Lopez Obrador supporters blockaded the entrance of the Spanish embassy in Mexico City.
Spain’s leftist government was one of the first countries to congratulate conservative Felipe Calderon on his election victory, while the result was still disputed.
Mr Lopez Obrador, who says more than 100,000 votes were miscounted or are missing, has warned he will stop conservative Mr Calderon from taking office if his demands for a full recount are not met.
Supporters of Mr Lopez Obrador, who have turned central Mexico City into a sea of tents, want to take their protests to President Vicente Fox’s state of the nation speech to Congress on September 1.
Mexico’s electoral court must name a new president by September 6.
The court on Sunday finished a partial recount of 9% of ballot boxes, and is expected to rule soon on whether there was fraud.
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