Guest blogged by Winter Patriot
In my frozen heart of hearts I have been wanting to blog about Mexico for a long time now; at this point it's getting ridiculous that I haven't done so already. I don't have a lot of time but I can give you some links and some quotes and some photos. Special thanks to the San Jose Mercury News and Kevin Diaz of McClatchy Newspapers. (The Mercury News asks you to register before you can read news on their website; it's free! and well worth it, IMO.)
July 31: Protesters set up camp, show support for López Obrador
Police made no effort to intervene as the protesters set up tents and blocked traffic, apparently in response to López Obrador's call for the establishment of 47 "permanent assemblies"' to press his claims of fraud in the July 2 elections. López Obrador lost the vote to conservative Felipe Calderón by less than 1 percent of 41 million ballots cast.
Protesters at one of the barricades on the Paseo de la Reforma said they would remain there until a federal tribunal hearing López Obrador's challenge orders a recount of every ballot.
The street action comes amid mounting tensions in the post-election dispute and was the first sign that López Obrador's supporters intended to take their protests beyond organized mass rallies.