Posted on 07/07/2006 2:06:30 PM PDT by StJacques
The stations of the Metro Collective System of Transport (STC), which come together in the downtown district, will not be closed but some interruption of circulation will become necessary.
Starting at 1:00 p.m. [Saturday] the police operation will get underway, in which 750 officers of the units of Citizen Protection will participate, as well as the Rescue Squadron and Emergency Medical Services (ERUM)1, to protect the meeting which Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador has called for in the Zócalo capital plaza this Saturday.
The monitoring authority will consider which interruptions of circulation are necessary; and in addition, all the stations of the Metro Collective System of Transport (STC) that come together in the downtown district will remain open, the Secretary of Public Security, Joel Ortega, informed [today].
The civil employee [Ortega] made a call to the organizers of this event, in which López Obrador will make a pronouncement2 that the results of the July 2 elections were adverse to him, so that participants in the demonstration can arrive ahead of time and look for parking places outside the streets of the central quarter of the city.
Joel Ortega also provided information that showing up for this massive gathering will be PRD members and sympathizers of the Tabasqueño3 politician, but that he [Ortega] will do his job in his capacity as Chief of Police, to supervise the police operation.
With reference to immobilizing vehicular padlocks that are used in the Historical Center [of the city] to sanction those who park on the streets, [Ortega] said they will not be employed after the arrival of the event's organizers begins, in order to avoid any type of friction.
The secretary of Public Security reiterated that the work of the Preventive Police of the Federal District, during these types of demonstrations, will be institutional, "with a responsible police use of police power that will not lend itself to any manipulation."
The closing of the roads of the central district of the city will begin at 1:00 p.m., though the event is scheduled to begin until 5:00 p.m.
-----------------------------------------------
Translator's Notes:
1ERUM is the acronym for the Escuadrón de Rescate y Urgencias Médicas, the Mexico City ambulance and medical emergency service.
2There is a possible double entendre at use here in the original text, which I believe may be intentional on the part of El Universal. The actual word used in the original article is pronunciamiento which in this case translates as "pronouncement," but two alternative translations of the word are "coup d'état" and "uprising." Given that this demonstration is going to take place in the Zócalo capital plaza in Mexico City, which is where the presidential palace is located, I find it hard to believe that the use of the word is unintentional and may indicate a subtle conveyance on the part of El Universal that they see real danger in what may happen there Saturday. I also believe that concerns over what may happen in this demonstration are expressed in yesterday's statement of the Catholic bishops in Mexico pleading with López Obrador not to "ignite" Mexico in his challenge to the elections. See http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1661661/posts for a translation of that news story.
3López Obrador is from the Mexican state of Tabasco on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. I have noticed that El Universal, which is a Mexico City newspaper, is somewhat alone in frequently referring to López Obrador, who is currently the Governor of the Federal District (Mexico City), as a Tabasqueño, which seems to convey the impression that they see him as an outsider who took over their city.
Woo woo, I can't wait! Really! Anything Mexico, let me know. :)
I am trying to guess the PRD's strategy. Obrador's claim to the office is tenuous at best. In Florida, at least Bush & Gore each had a claim ... Bush to the Electoral College and Gore to the popular vote. And I suspect that Mexico's laws will not allow for the fancy moves put forth by his lawyers alhtough I could be wrong.
There will be violence no matter what. These are the dregs of Mexican society.
Why Sunday as opposed to Saturday, the day of the demonstration? And I HOPE they cover this on TV in the states!
Excellent. Thanks for all your hard work.
ObraGore wants to start an uprising!
Well, I've posted below two picures from election night. One the Obrador supporters and the other the Calderon supporters. You can clearly see that there probably is a class distinction going on:
Anyway, we report, you decide:
OBRADOR SUPPORTERS
CALDERON SUPPORTERS
Their main support is from drug dealers. There will be some bloodshed.
Its already ugly. How about real, real ugly.
The biggest problem they have is that there is a physical tangible division down the middle of the country.
I have a question. The police force may be under Obrador's control, but the police force in Mexico is not very efficient.
In contrast, the ejercito is very efficient. And I don't believe there is anything in Mexican law against calling the ejercito out on citizens. They are not used often, but when they are, they achieve results. And they are not adverse to using any force necessary.
Do you think Fox will trump Obrador?
Becki
What a picture.
One of the problems is that the left in Mexico has focused heavily on indigenous peoples for some time now. This is actually one of the things that has led to their dropping even further back, because during the 1970s there was even leftist opposition to teaching them Spanish ("destroying their culture," etc.). Many indigenous Mexicans live in remote areas and still do not speak or read and write Spanish, or at any rate, don't do so very well.
Interestingly enough, when the "indigenas" come to the US, they seem to manage to learn English. It may be bus-boy English, but it's enough to get by, and they do well enough to go back to their villages with what seems to them like a dazzling amount of money.
But the left has always been heavily invested in separating out vulnerable groups and keeping the poor poor. It gives them power, and they have a lot of power over these barely literate folk from the south.
The Mexican police can be pretty aggressive when they want to be, but that is a good question.
What is the situation with the army? Can the Mexican president call out our equivalent to the National Guard to keep order? I believe I read somewhere that Fox had the army on alert on Sunday night/Monday morning when it emerged that Obrador was not going to win. St. Jacques, do you know?
You said it. The stock in trade for the left is catering to the poor ... leveling society down to its lowest common denominator.
The towns and rural areas in Mexico are charming and wonderful ... time out of time. But the government's fix for indigenous people was to teach them how to market their crafts to sell to tourists. For many this is their only source of income ... not a good way to get ahead in life and join the middle class.
Exactly. I mean, how many earrings do you have to sell off your blanket to be able to buy dinner for your kids? And as for anything beyond subsistence, there's not even the slightest chance.
Could or would, Vicente Fox call in the military and declare martial law, to restore order if Obrador attempted a coup?
"I am sick to my stomach of watching the MSM present López Obrador as a "Mexican Liberal." He is much, much more dangerous than that and the potential he and his followers represent for possibly pulling Mexico apart is more real, and poses a far greater threat to our national interest, in my opinion, than the most Americans realize."
I was reading an article on Obrador that said he is an authoritartian that believes the law should be what he says it is. Nothing liberal about that.
I can answer. Several of us stayed up all night of the election and again on the night of the recount. Just as it was clear on election night that Obrador was going to lose, the police began forming. I think it MAY have been La Enchiladita who was watching Univision that night who saw it. Anyway, I have pinged her to this thread.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.