Free Republic

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — Blanca Navidad is the name of a dusty squatter's quarters that doesn't have too much to cheer about. It is a barren plot of land where some of Nuevo Laredo's poorest residents live, literally, in oversize plywood boxes. There's no water and no electricity. This year, the mayor unsuccessfully tried to dislodge the residents of Blanca Navidad and force them to move to already-developed low-income areas. On Tuesday, Subcomandante Marcos, the near-mythical masked leader of the Zapatista National Liberation Army, rallied the neighborhood and used it to launch a tirade against politicians from here to Mexico...

As his critics dismiss it as an act of a loser's desperation, Mexican leftist Lopez Obrador declares himself presidentMEXICO CITY — Mexico's nearly five-month-old political standoff took a surreal twist Monday when the losing presidential candidate was "sworn in" before tens of thousands of cheering supporters. "I take the oath to fulfill the Constitution of the Republic as the legitimate president of Mexico," declared Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, after donning the "presidential sash," shimmering in the green, white and red of the Mexican flag. His followers chanted "Presidente! Presidente!" Many had traveled hundreds of miles, braving bitter cold to pack...