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NEWS & LETTERS, October-November 2006Our Life and Timesby Kevin A. Barry and Mitch Weerth Plan for 'parallel' government in MexicoThe Sept. 16 mass gathering of supporters of Andres Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) in Mexico City's Zocalo, dubbed a National Democratic Convention (CND), elected him the "legitimate president of the republic" and asked him to assume the post on Nov. 20, prior to when Felipe Calderón is sworn into office as president on Dec 1. AMLO is also to form a cabinet, and establish his headquarters somewhere downtown. The CND gathering was one culmination of the protests that have been ongoing since the fraudulent July 2 elections. A tent city, where 3,000-10,000 people were camped out at any one time in the Zocalo (it's estimated that some 60,000 spent at least some of their nights there) was dismantled to allow room for the traditional military parade in the morning of the 16th, and the CND in the afternoon. Some cynical observers in the U.S. such as James McKinley, writing in The New York Times (9/15/06) viewed the demise of the tent city as evidence of a lack of initiative on the part of AMLO and the ongoing movement. The truth is actually much more complex. Once Calderón's victory was certified on Sept. 1, a decision that cannot be appealed, AMLO's quest for the presidency was, legally speaking, out of options. He could have done as Cuauhtemoc Cardenas did in 1988: put his tail between his legs and go home. Instead he has continued to call on his supporters to build a sustained mass movement of non-violent resistance to a Calderón-led government. And masses of working class Mexicans—urban and rural—are heeding his call. The character of the protests in the Zocalo since early July led to the success of the Sept. 16 event. To highlight the fact that the movement is not limited to the capital, each of the 31 Mexican states had their own tent, and everyone circulated freely among them. AMLO gave daily updates, in mass meetings called "informative assemblies" (asambleas informativas), on the progress of the effort to fight the election results. The entrance to the encampment had a banner over it proclaiming it the "Zocalo Commune" in reference to the 1871 Paris Commune. AMLO would come and go via the metro, as is his fashion. Overall it was characterized by a festive spirit, not one of defeat. Despite having experienced another fraudulent election, Mexico may now be in a better position than other Latin American countries who have been successful in their attempts to elect leftist presidents. Rather than see the initiative for change in living conditions pass to the state, which has been leading to few concrete improvements elsewhere, there is no illusion in Mexico: the movement must either grow or succumb to Calderon's rule over the next six years. It is not clear to anyone what AMLO's "parallel government" will mean. Some evoke the years 1858 to 1861 when Benito Juarez and his fellow liberals established their capital in Veracruz. Others see in AMLO a 21st century Francisco Madero, who defied Porfirio Diaz in the 1910 presidential election, was jailed for his efforts, and then called on his fellow citizens to rise up in arms against the state. AMLO appears to prefer the Juarez analogy. He alludes to him often, and he has scheduled the next reunion of the CND for March 21, Juarez's birthday. AMLO isn't calling on anyone to rise up in arms, but he is calling for mass civil disobedience. He readily acknowledges that this movement is currently his only recourse against a new PAN administration backed by the U.S. |
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