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Hundreds of Thousands Protest Mexico Election Results

Over 100,000 people gathered in Mexico City over the weekend to protest the electoral loss of leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador by 244,000 votes. Lopez Obrador has demanded a manual recount of all 41 million votes cast in last week?s election in America?s southern neighbor. The demonstrations against the victory of Felipe Calderon, who cannot actually take office until an electoral court deals with various allegations of fraud or unfair campaign practices, were set to continue throughout the weekend. Calderon is seen in the ?poor? south as solely a representative of the ?rich? north of the country.

European Union election observers noted no irregularities, despite the claims by Lopez Obrador, in the carrying out of the election process. Still, the electoral court will likely do its job and release the final results and make the electoral victory final by September 6, the last date the electoral court will be able to do so. The Embassy of the United States urged citizens to stay away from areas of political activity, noting that while the demonstrators have peaceful intentions in large groups such as this bad things can happen.

Lopez Obrador has said that any violence involving protestors, if it erupts, will be the fault of the government. Smaller demonstrations took place in several smaller towns throughout Mexico. Mr. Calderon, who has claimed victory, belongs to the National Action Party, which is the political party of current Mexican president Vicente Fox. Challenger Lopez Obrador is a former mayor of the Mexican capital city.