MEXICO CITY — As President Vicente Fox prepares to deliver his final state of the nation address today, Mexico remains divided over who should be declared his successor, and many fear an escalation in unrest by protesters who feel betrayed by the electoral institutions Fox is expected to applaud in his speech.
Federal and state police Thursday erected 9-foot-tall metal barricades to block streets surrounding the congressional hall where Fox will address lawmakers and the nation. Authorities hope the barriers, as well as the presence of riot police, armored vehicles and water cannons, will deter protesters who allege that the July 2 election was stolen by Fox's conservative National Action Party, or PAN.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the charismatic leftist who finished less than 1 percentage point, or about 240,000 votes, behind PAN candidate Felipe Calderon, has promised that September will be a month of nonviolent revolution.
Lopez Obrador has told supporters he will accompany them to the site of Fox's speech tonight. He also has declared he will hold a national convention on Mexico City's central square Sept. 16, Mexico's Independence Day, with the idea of creating a parallel government. Army units on that day traditionally march through the central square, known as the Zocalo.
Most analysts expect the nation's Federal Electoral Tribunal to declare Calderon the new president by Wednesday, the court's constitutional deadline. And most think Lopez Obrador will step up protests rather than accept a Calderon victory.
"I am the president of Mexico," Lopez Obrador has declared many times since the election.
The theme of his aggressive post-election campaign, which argues that a recount of every vote would reveal his victory and widespread fraud on Calderon's behalf, is supported by at least a third of Mexicans, polls show.
He draws support to his Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, from those who think there should be more government help for the poor and working class through direct subsidies, large public works projects and lower electricity and gasoline prices.
The 52-year-old former mayor of Mexico City has lost every round in his fight for a full recount. The tribunal's judges chose to examine ballot challenges in 9% of the polling stations, and declared this week that they found thousands of mistakes but no evidence of fraud, making it likely Calderon would be declared the winner. The judges have the sole power to ratify or annul the election.
