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Playing President: López Obrador Swores Himself In
Has the former presidential candidate who officially lost the July 2 election gone too far, and has Mexico's government in
allowing him to do so?
By Mexico City BARRIOZONA's Bureau
BARRIOZONA
November 21, 2006
The first pages of a new chapter in Mexico’s history begin with a familiar word: fraud; a word written on many pages of
many other chapters in the history of this nation. The title of this new episode is “July 2nd, 2006”, the date of the most
recent presidential election. Just before, but absolutely more clearly after the electoral day, Mexico’s society witnessed a
political struggle aimed at sustaining and gaining power. Echoes of fraud − a constant in most Mexican elections − tolled
like church bells calling the people to rise and to respond, and to act upon a more familiar and tragic sound: the sound of
protest.
Reminiscences of the barefaced fraud of 1988 lingered over 2006’s election, feeding and reviving people’s sentiment of
frustration, and opening an old wound. A gash so deep, it actually gives continuity to Mexican history, and bleeds the
necessary ink for the next chapter, for a new section of a familiar plot, a repetitive drama, and a virtually indispensable
comedy. In the midst of this political theatre, the audience − the Mexican people − does not know what’s better: to cry or to
laugh − a popular saying so intricately woven in the fabric of Mexico’s idiosyncrasy, that could be easily minted in the
apocryphal coins of Andrés Manuel López Obrador that were circulated as a commemorative souvenir the day of his no
less apocryphal inauguration.
Allegations of an engineered fraud shook Mexico’s assumed social peace. The epicenter of a sociopolitical tremor
cracked the avenue of convergence, splitting the society in two streets of divergence. From underneath the pavement, the
social monster of polarization emerged limping, claiming to be the legitimate victor of a winnerless election. Duplicated
claims of “I am the president” came out of the mouths of the two candidates, ringing in both ears of those who voted and
those who didn’t. And then, a tug of war, where neither group was strong enough to make the other cross the center line. It
took and electoral court to decide who the winner was. After all, only one candidate can win; there cannot be two
presidents; or can there?
According to Andrés Manuel López Obrador − the former Mexican presidential candidate who officially lost the election −
the issue is not if there can be two presidents, but who is the legitimate one. Even though his defeat was confirmed by the
Federal Electoral Judicial Tribunal, he swore himself in as the “legitimate president” of Mexico. He’s so certain the victory
was his, that he firmly believes he is the president, this in spite that there is an actual and official president-elect: Felipe
Calderón Hinojosa. López Obrador not only proclaimed himself as the genuine president, but also announced the
founding of a new republic, presented a new national flag using a coat of arms used by President Benito Juárez in the XIX
Century, and introduced his cabinet.
In a ceremony that took place in the main plaza in Mexico City – the Zócalo – hundreds of thousands of Obrador’s followers
gathered to witness the rather unusual event, where López Obrador, who has been claiming fraud and conspiracy since
the July 2nd election, received the “presidential” sash, which was placed around his shoulders, a symbol closely tied to
the presidency. The scenario almost did look legitimate, except Mexican institutions neither endorsed it nor has an official
legitimacy. In his eyes, he’s the president; in the eyes of the law, he is not.
Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, the man institutions, and the highest electoral authority of Mexico said he is the legitimate
winner. The actual president-elect will take oath on Friday, December 1st. That is if López Obrador’s party, the Party of the
Democratic Revolution (PRD), allows him to do so. They are, as a political entity of growing presence and strength, as
convinced as their former candidate that there was major fraud that stole the presidential election from them. Based on
that notion, López Obrador as well as the PRD, have vowed to impede the official president-elect from the National Action
Party (PAN) to be sworn in. They also have determined to make life miserable for Calderón Hinojosa if he becomes
president, and assure that he won’t finish his six-year term.
López Obrador probably could have accomplished more by fighting in the social arena as an activist, as a leader of the
people, as a community wrestler in favor of a crowd starving for justice and economic equality. The poor were there ready
to be reaped by a true social warrior. He chose to play president instead, to stubbornly install himself in the most
ridiculous and scandalous act in the trail of absurd, silly, and infective strategies seeking to change the outcome of an
election won at all costs by the party in power. Was there fraud? Was López Obrador robbed the presidency? Isn’t he a
politician who also knows about unscrupulous tactics and dirty political tricks? Isn’t he himself plotting to prevent Calderon
Hinojosa from taking oath, or from finishing his term? He should not be surprised at how Mexican politics operate.
López Obrador was able to seize the hunger and thirst of the poor and less privileged people. His banner and his doctrine
are as valid as the people’s demands for better economic opportunities and social justice. If he wanted to fight for them,
he obviously chose the wrong job. Couldn’t he be a Martin Luther King, Jr. or a Cesar Chavez, a social activist to bring
about the changes he seeks in the political arena? He wanted to be president at all costs as well, so we know being an
activist is not his avenue. Everything in him points out to a man who dreams of power, and who may be using and
manipulating the needy and less educated people for his own gain. Perhaps López Obrador hasn’t realized it yet, but by
making himself the president, he’ll never be a legitimate one. Time will reveal right and wrong perceptions about him, but
most likely they will confirm López Obrador was a fake as the coins circulated in his “inauguration.” Whatever amount of
sincerity and honesty he may have had was shattered by his own fantasies of power.
Copyright © 2006 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
Grassroots Journalism
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