Delegates at the National Democratic Convention (CND) have formally declared Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) as Mexico’s “legitimate president” which he is formally set to take office on November 20 at 3 p.m. at Constitution Square in Mexico City.
The delegates at CND also authorize López Obrador to appoint members to his cabinet, he is also authorized to select where the new capital in will be set up in Mexico and right to act as Mexico’s official and legitimate president. The new government will observe the framework of a democratic republic, whereby the President of Mexico is both head of state and head of government. As President of the new government, he has the right to collect taxes.
The new government will denounce Felipe Calderón as Mexico’s official president and all of his appointed cabinet members and all executive orders of his office.
They additionally decided to publicly reject the current standing Republic and condemn the corruption and privileges of the current regime.
There are no official numbers, La Jornada puts the number at 1,025,724 delegates and El Universal puts the number even at 1,200,000. However, our media has tried to downplay the number. The New York Times puts the number at 150,000.
I have the sinking feeling that this is going to get very, very ugly.
Do you mean violence? I don’t think that is going to happen. Lopez Obrador has continually stressed the peaceful nature of protest and this is too high profile for actions by the government such as the Tlateloco massacre of 1968
Wow. Muchas gracias, XicanoPwr, for keeping us up to date on what’s going on down in Mexico. It’s awe-inspiring to watch. I worry for them too.
I’m not exactly sure what the “official” authority of the CND is, though — what percentage of the population do those delegates represent? Other than sheer numbers of delgates (which is impressive in itself), what weight does this carry in Mexican law or public opinion across the country?
In a CNN Espanol interview, Hugo Chavez said he will not recognize Felipe Calderón as President of Mexico. That says a lot because, Evo Morales could probably do the same as well as those who are in line with Chavez.
This is incredible. No, the violence is not coming from the left, it will come from the right, the Mexican Army who’ll shoot to kill under Calderon’s command, given a green light by CheneyCo.
I think, in more spiritual terms, this is an incredible experiment in the collective will of people who are united in a spirit of fairness and justice. It’s just incredible.
The Mexican Army is highly unlikely to fire on civilian demonstrators, especially when they are as visible as the coalition members are in Mexico. Mexico is a fundamentaly different place than it was in 1968, when the Tlatelolco massacre took place. AMLO and his supporters are very commited to a peaceful path, and the army, whose rank and file members mostly come from the poorer parts of society are unlikely to fire on their brothers and sisters. The Mexican army is not a bunch of thugs, maybe riot police from the PGR might fire if attacked, but I would expect more the use of tear gas and water cannon from them.
Any such actions would be very incendiary and the panistas know this.
Contrary to what many think, there is absolutely no indications that Mexico is going to become a bloodbath, not matter what some silly headlines from the US and International press say.
I admit to not being as knowledgeable about Mexico I should be. I am worried about what our government might do behind the scenes to quash Obrador and his supports. It’s good news that the army unlikely to turn on the citizens of Mexico. Thanks for the reporting.