MEXICO CITY — This capital's popular leftist mayor, caught in a legal wrangle that could end his presidential ambitions, returned to work Monday in defiance of the federal government, which wants him to stand trial.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the front-runner in the July 2006 presidential election, had not been to his office since early April, when Congress stripped him of immunity from prosecution in an obscure land expropriation case.
President Vicente Fox's government says the mayor automatically lost his job when his immunity was lifted, but Lopez Obrador insists that he is still mayor of one of the world's biggest cities. Legal opinion is divided on the issue.
Boosted by a weekend march of hundreds of thousands of supporters, Lopez Obrador turned up for work before dawn at City Hall in the main square.
"I am going to dedicate myself to working," the mayor told reporters. He flashed the victory sign to cheering supporters outside his office.
But Ruben Aguilar, a spokesman for Fox, warned that "the return of Mr. Lopez to the mayor's office ... is a provocation and a violation of the laws."
A legal representative for Lopez Obrador later said the mayor would not sign any official documents while the case against him was pending, in order to avoid further charges, Mexican media reported. He did plan to carry out other duties, such as representing the city at public events.
In the legal case, Lopez Obrador is accused of ignoring a judge's order to halt roadwork on a disputed stretch of land in the city. Under Mexican law, anyone facing criminal charges is barred from running for office.
Lopez Obrador says he did no wrong and is the victim of a plot led by Fox, other political rivals and big business to force him out of the race.
