Posted on 04/09/2005 8:48:00 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
MEXICO CITY — This city's beleaguered mayor voluntarily resigned his position Friday morning, a day after the National Congress stripped his legal immunity and placed the country's leading presidential candidate's campaign in jeopardy.
"I will not return to city government," Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters outside his home, adding he would remain there until a warrant is issued for his arrest on contempt-of-court charges in an old land-use dispute. He reiterated he would then peacefully surrender to authorities.
But, despite earlier claims that it would move swiftly, the federal Mexican attorney general's office said Friday afternoon it hadn't drawn up the necessary legal paperwork needed for a judge to issue an arrest warrant. It indicated the process could take several days.
Lopez Obrador, this city's popular leftist mayor, said he would continue his campaign for president behind bars if he had to and urged supporters to continue peaceful protests against efforts that would keep him off next year's ballot.
A massive show of support Thursday at the city's huge main square, the Zocalo, failed to deter the National Congress from stripping the mayor's immunity so he can face the contempt-of-court charges.
The charges threaten to end his campaign for president because Mexico's Constitution prevents anyone charged with a crime from seeking office.
Lopez Obrador, was favored to succeed President Vicente Fox in next year's elections, argued his impeachment was politically motivated.
He accused the country's two leading political parties — Fox's National Action Party, or PAN, and the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI — of conspiring to eliminate him from the elections.
Members of the mayor's administration on Friday denounced the National Congress's actions as a "backward movement to the country's incipient democracy," and an offense to the rights of the city's residents who voted for Lopez Obrador.
They also increased the number of people estimated to have attended Thursday's rally, saying about 350,000 supporters gathered at the Zocalo. On Thursday, they put the count at about 150,000.
Mexico President Vicente Fox, who was in Rome attending Pope John Paul II's funeral, told reporters he didn't see the rally, but called Thursday's impeachment "an important day."
"This makes it clear that in Mexico, there is strong institutionalism; that in Mexico there is democracy; that there is ambient liberty for opinions, per say, for expressions," Fox said. "And, finally, that in Mexico there is respect for the law. That is a theme of my government that we are going to maintain until the end."
Lopez Obrador, a member of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, or PRD, is accused of ignoring a court order in 2001 to stop the construction of an access road to a hospital. Construction since has stopped and the road has yet to be finished.
He said he plans on staying at home to avoid any confusion with the law and directed questions about city operations to the acting mayor, Alejandro Encinas.
He said he will continue his usual practice of holding morning news conferences at a park near his home to answer questions about his presidential campaign.
Mexican analysts fear political chaos will follow if Lopez Obrador is barred from running for office. Major rallies are planned across the country to support his candidacy.
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jzarazua@express-news.net
V. Fox and fellow commies have been after this mayor since day one. A year or so ago, they claimed he was doing some illegal things in Las Vegas or a close worker of his was caught doing something illegal in Las Vegas. Can't remember exactly what it was. This guy is no more a commie that V. Fox is. This is just Mexican politics. It wouldn't surprise me if he was killed.
As ole George Wallace said, "There ain't a dimes worth of difference in the parties." This applies to Mexico also.
"9-11 amply demonstrated that US cities already are at risk from WMDs."
Thanks in large part to loose immigration policy. It only helps to tighten border security, so far as WMDs go. The other problem is Mexico's stability. Is Fox a stabalizing force there? Dick Morris thinks a lot of him. He considers Fox to be their version of 'conservative'. I don't completely trust Morris yet. But he's a sharp one. So I dunno. FReegards....
And catch this:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1380808/posts
"The director of a newspaper on Mexico's Gulf coast was shot to death in an apparent ambush by drug hit men, police reported Saturday, the second attack on Mexican journalists in a week."
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