Meanwhile, Over in Mexico...

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his supporters show no signs of letting up:

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is heading the protests to pressure Mexico's electoral court into ordering a full recount of votes in the July 2 presidential election he narrowly lost to the conservative ruling party's candidate, Felipe Calderon.

Thousands of leftists have seized the capital's vast Zocalo square and the main Reforma boulevard in support of Lopez Obrador, causing three straight days of traffic chaos and drawing fire from the government.

"Mexico City belongs to everyone. All those who live here deserve to have their rights respected," said Ruben Aguilar, spokesman for President Vicente Fox, in a rare outburst.

He said the leftists were hurting the economy, putting jobs at risk and violating residents' rights of free movement.

Uhm, Mr. Aguilar, it's democracy in action. Coming from a country that gave birth to the People Power Revolution, I say the smart thing for you and your party to do is address the grievances of the people regarding voter fraud and not dismiss their protests as merely a source of inconvenience.

Calderon can actually put a stop to the protests if he agrees to a full vote recount instead of just re-examining the tally sheets. The ball is in his court.

Otherwise, the protests will likely continue until August 31st when the election court decides what to do. It may even go beyond that.

Image: Reuters/Tomas Bravo.

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