Challenger fights on for Mexican election recount

Protesters blocked the entrance to the main offices of three foreign banks in Mexico on Aug. 9, in a continuing escalation of civil disobedience to demand a full recount of votes in the July 2 election—in which big-business candidate Felipe Calderón claimed victory over Andrés Manuel López Obrador by a margin of half of a percentage point, despite charges of fraud [see Workers World, Aug. 10].

The three banks—U.S.-owned Citi group’s Banamex, Spain-owned BBVA’s Bancomer, and British-owned HSBC—were forced to shut down for several hours. The banks in Mexico, all but one of which is foreign owned, are symbols and participants in the “free trade” reforms that have been devastating to Mexico’s poor and working people, and which Calderón has promised to continue.

The escalation of protests began on July 30, with encampments of López Obrador supporters, and López Obrador himself, along the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. The encampments have continued along with other actions such as the seizing of tollbooths and blocking of the agricultural ministry on Aug. 8.

A limited recount of just 9 percent of Mexico’s polling places ended on Aug. 13, and as of Aug. 15, results had not been announced. López Obrador has vowed to continue this struggle, saying on Aug. 13 that he and his supporters are “prepared to resist for as long as it takes. We could be here for years if the circumstances warrant it.” He has called for protests on Sept. 1, when President Vicente Fox gives his last state of the nation address, and again on Sept. 6, the deadline for the electoral court to name a president elect.

In an Aug. 11 op-ed article in the New York Times, López Obrador wrote: “Mexico has a history of corrupt elections where the will of the people has been subverted by the wealthy and powerful. Grievances have now accumulated in the national consciousness, and this time we are not walking away from the problem. The citizens gathered with me in peaceful protest in the Zócalo, the capital’s grand central plaza, speak loudly and clearly: Enough is enough.”

Copper workers under attack

David Bacon of New American Media reports that the copper mining business, meanwhile, is taking the supposed victory of Calderón as a “green light to crack down on striking mine workers.” Mexico’s federal labor board ruled on July 12 that 1,400 Nacozari, Sonora miners, who have been striking since March 24, have abandoned their jobs. According to Bacon, the ruling allows mine owners Grupo México —which poured money into the Calderón campaign—to legally shut down operations and then reopen the mine without the union.

The same day as the ruling, arrest warrants were issued against 21 strikers in Sonora by the state’s Governor Bours Castelo, while the Fox administration issued arrest warrants against six union leaders and raided the union’s national office in Mexico City. Miners at the Cananea copper mine, who have also been striking since June, voted to end the strike rather than face similar closure. (New American Media, Aug. 9)

Oaxaca in turmoil

In Oaxaca, thousands marched on Aug. 13 to demand an investigation into the Aug. 10 killing of protestor José Jiménez. Jiménez was shot in the heart at a demonstration of 8,000 organized to demand the resignation of Gov. Ulises Ruiz. The day before, two men and a 12-year-old boy were gunned down on their way to another rally in Oaxaca.

Protests and encampments have continued in the state since a violent June 14 police raid on a rally in support of higher wages for teachers. The protestors, who have organized themselves since that raid into the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO), have seized a local television station and confiscated 35 buses. They held for several hours four people that they said were associated with the Jiménez killing on Aug. 11.

On Aug. 11, teachers’ union leader Erangelio Medoza González was arrested. A protest organizer told AP that González was being held on federal charges of blocking public access and taking over city buses.

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