Leftist Protest Encampments Coming Down in Mexico City (Translation)

eluniversal.com.mx ^ | September 13, 2006 | Alejandra Martinez ( translated by self )

[StJacques]

Protest Encampment on Reforma Avenue is Slowly Being Removed

In the stretch which goes from the Petroleum Fountain to the Zocalo capital square few guards are observed, there are now practically no kitchens, storage and food distribution centers

Alejandra Martinez
El Universal
Mexico City
Wednesday 13 September 2006

The protest encampments of the For the Good of All coalition which are located about the Paseo de la Reforma are beginning to be removed through an ant-like process, which is to say, in a discrete and gradual way.

This Wednesday they have now initiated the removal of gas tanks, sound equipment, the disconnecting of electricity, the piling up of chairs and preparing the retirement of the encampments which could be found in the area since the 31st of July.

In the stretch which goes from the Petroleum Fountain to the Zocalo capital square few guards are observed, there are now practically no kitchens, storage and food distribution centers.

The formal removal of tents will begin tomorrow in order that at daybreak of the 16th of September the area will be left completely clean for the parade which the Mexican Army carries out every year.

[StJacques]

Well; it finally appears that the PRD has recognized there is no point in continuing their shutdown of the center of Mexico City. They have begun breaking down their protest encampments along the Paseo de la Reforma, which they will have completed by daybreak Friday, and they will take down their remaining encampment in the Zocalo capital square in the early A.M. hours Saturday morning, so as not to interfere with Mexico's Independence Day celebrations later that day (September 16 is Mexico's Independence Day).

Many of you may remember that I had warned that a dangerous confrontation could be looming over access to the Zocalo capital square on Saturday, since Vicente Fox had guaranteed that Mexico would be able to celebrate its Independence Day in the normal way, while Lopez Obrador and the PRD were insisting that their protest encampment would not be taken down until after they held their "Democratic National Convention" later in the day on Saturday. Well; Lopez Obrador and the PRD have blinked and they have agreed to get out of the way. The story unfolded slowly, starting late last week.

At first; the PRD said they would gladly stand aside to let the Mexican Army march in its traditional parade, but would keep their protest encampments in place. The Mexican Army said "no." Then there were calls for the PRD to negotiate with the Fox administration to work out the details, with the PRD Head of Government in the Federal District Alejandro Encinas acting as a mediator, but the Fox administration said "no." Then the PRD offered to take down the protest encampments on the Paseo de la Reforma to permit the parade, but insisted they would maintain their encampment in the Zocalo capital square, but both the Army and Fox said "no." And finally; the PRD agreed to remove all their encampments by Saturday morning, which is the course of action now underway. They still intend to return to the Zocalo capital square after the Independence Day celebrations have concluded Saturday evening for their "Democratic National Convention," but there are reports now surfacing that Calderon supporters may try to keep them off the square. I doubt that will occur but it does indicate that some private citizens are becoming more vocal in their expressions of discontent with the PRD. We'll watch and see what happens.

[StJacques]

PING

[308MBR]

Thus begins Mexico's Civil War.......

[goldfinch]

That sounds like good news. Thank you for keeping us posted.

[StJacques]

"That sounds like good news."

It is very good news goldfinch. After over a month of PRD threats and intimidation the forces of order are reassuming control. Lopez Obrador was gambling that popular support for his protests over the election would make it impossible for the federal government to remove him and his followers from the Zocalo capital square, but he just doesn't have the numbers anymore. He is well on his way to being yesterday's news.

[EQAndyBuzz]

"The protest encampments of the For the Good of All coalition which are located about the Paseo de la Reforma are beginning to be removed through an ant-like process, which is to say, in a discrete and gradual way."

Something about the common good should frighten peeople.

[CedarDave]

More like the end of this battle with the PRD losing. The fact that the PRD is taking down the encampments in the capital city pretty much ensures that Saturday's event will be limited to rhetoric by Obrador (aka Obragore) and company. By not taking action or provoking them, the situation is collapsing by its own weight, with the party losing members of its supporting alliance who do not see a future in continuing the protests to the detriment of work lost and the economy being damaged.

On the other hand, the leftists control the streets in the state of Oaxaca and until that is resolved, the new government of Mexico, which takes office in December, will always be subject to questions as to its ability to govern nationally.

[untenured]

Does AMLO still plan to gather a huge crowd to nominate an alternate-universe president, cabinet, etc.?

[shield]

No Way...most Mexicans want life as normal again...this will fade in the sunset kinda like the gore group did...wait and see.

[StJacques]

"Does AMLO still plan to gather a huge crowd to nominate an alternate-universe president, cabinet, etc.?"

Yes; that is what the "Democratic National Convention" is supposedly all about. But they're going to have to wait until everyone clears out of the Zocalo Saturday evening before they can get started.

Lazaro Cardenas Batel, the PRD Governor of Michoacan and son of Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, the founder of the PRD, said today that if the convention names Lopez Obrador "President," it will be no more than a "symbolic act," and that the real work of the PRD would be to work "within institutions" for change in Mexico. I doubt that went over very well with AMLO and his followers.

And I love the "alternate-universe" phrasing in your question.

[Graymatter]

LMAO, AMLO!

[Dane]

Very good news. Obragore's 15 minutes seem to be up.

[Paleo Conservative]

but he just doesn't have the numbers anymore. He is well on his way to being yesterday's news.

Maybe in a month or two, he'll be on milk cartons.

[Shuttle Shucker]

Hi Saint:
Thanks for the refreshing update. What a storm we Mexican progress fans seem to have weathered! Anyhow, would you please elaborate by what you mean by "they said "no"" below?

>>>Then the PRD offered to take down the protest encampments on the Paseo de la Reforma to permit the parade, but insisted they would maintain their encampment in the Zocalo capital square, but both the Army and Fox said "no."<<<

In other words, did they say "it's our way or we'll remove you?" Or did they say "either move or we'll not go there, at least not exactly like the country would like"?

I'm trying to figure out if the govt. showed some potential force (despite the fears of looking oppressive), or if they told the PRD they'd act in ways that disgrace them, or what?

[StJacques]

". . . would you please elaborate . . . what you mean by they said 'no'. . ."

First of all; there were never any direct talks between the PRD/Lopez Obrador and the federal government. All of the "offers" the PRD and their "official mouthpiece" Encinas made were through the press. The entire scenario I traced out for you basically follows a series of articles in El Universal in which either the PRD said what a new offer was, Encinas said what he hoped the outcome would be, or the Army and/or Fox administration stated the way things would be. There were some discussions between the EMP, i.e. the Estado Mayor Presidencial (State Office of the Presidency), and the DF police which is where I think it was made pretty clear what would happen. The substance of those discussions was not made public, but the longer they went on the weaker the PRD's position became, so I think it is a fair deduction that the EMP put the pressure on. Fox and the Army just continued smiling and speaking nicely to the press about how wonderful a celebration everyone was going to have free from any interference. It appears to have been a "good cop/bad cop" type of negotiation in which Fox and the Army were the "good cops" speaking to the public while the EMP were the "bad cops" reading the riot act to Encinas, who took the news to the PRD.

And as a followup, once the PRD threw in the towel, Encinas publicly pleaded with the EMP to act in a "measured" way towards AMLO's sympathizers on Friday, when Fox is scheduled to read the Grito at about 11:00 p.m. on the balcony of the national palace fronting the Zocalo capital plaza. There was no public response. But I just saw that the Zocalo encampment seems to be coming down early, which means that the PRD seem to be rushing to get out of the way. They released a statement saying they want to be sure they're out of everyone's way so the fireworks and pyrotechnics can be set up without interference. Uh huh; yeah, right!

I saw on Univision today that they are going to carry Fox's reading of the Grito live at 11:00 p.m. Central Friday evening. I think I'm going to watch it. I've never seen it done. It's a unique tradition, because Mexico had no "Declaration" of their independence the way we did; they had a Catholic priest organize a bunch of rioting Indian mine workers amassed in a public square who then decided to get up and "shout" (grita) that Mexico was independent from Spain. Every year the Mexican President reads a text of what is assumed to be Father Hidalgo's grito in the public square of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato. I'd like to see this.

[Shuttle Shucker]

Hi Saint:
That's an interesting history of El Grito. The frenetic start kind of explains the difference between Mexico and the USA (which emerged more deliberately). If you come across the text of what he actually reads, please feel free to link to it and ping me.

I wonder what would have happened if the PRDsters had remained in the Zocalo and on the Paseo de la Reforma this weekend. Was the bad cop, as you called it, saying they'd be removed? Would there have been violence?

I had thought the unionist thugs / goons would have held out for the duration as they're getting paid to do this. But maybe the unions hated the loss of jobs and membership declines that could result.

Either way, Felipe has asked that they NOT burn the ballots like they ordinarily do. Hopefully they won't conduct a recount that fraudulently says Felipe lost. Then he could be in for a real headache.

[StJacques]

I know that part of it is "¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe! ¡Viva Fernando VII! ¡Muera el mal gobierno!

rovenstinez;

¿Que mas hay en el Grito?

[Reaganez]

In 1988,smack in the middle of the PRI dictatorship, there were no accurate electoral not economic numbers.

But my guess is that in 1988 two thirds of the Mexican population lived below the poverty line and the PRD got 55% of the presidential vote if the votes would have been counted fairly.


In 2006 42% of Mexicans live below the poverty line and the PRD got 35% of the vote.

In 2012 my guess is the population living under the poverty line will be less that 35%. Calderon won the 18-30 year old vote by 3% and lost the senior citizen vote. Don't have a figure for that one since I did not see a poll but confident he did.My guess is that in 2012 an authentic Leftist will top out at 30% if there is no economic Depression. There will simply not be enough desperate,ignorant, illiterate poor for the PRD to get elected.

The PRD analyst can see the writing on the wall too. I think that is a key reason why they fought so hard this time.

[StJacques]

I agree with everything you wrote.

And not only are economic progress and the changing age structure with the PAN and against the PRD, so is geography. The growth in support for the PAN has pretty much marched southward from the industrialized north and the recent election showed that in states like Durango, Veracruz, and Michoacan; all of which have begun to take part in this development, that the PAN's support has grown especially fast since 2000. So it looks like the PAN is already poised to take advantage of increased economic opportunities coming into areas where they are already popular.

At some point Mexicans are going to start asking themselves why the PRD doesn't bring development. ¿Puede decir plantón?

[Shuttle Shucker]

On a tangentially related note, it would seem that the price of oil is due for further declines:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003257679_oilconsumers14.html

Mexico will need to generate economic growth in other industries.

Sadly, Felipe Calderon could get blamed for the upcoming financially lean times. But he could also use this, and the wall between Mexico and Gringolandia, to justify less popular reforms.