Original source URL: http://www.mexidata.info/id971.html MEXIDATA . INFO Special 071706 AMLO July 17, 2006 Interview with Andres Lopez Obrador of Mexico "I am going to fight to the end" (Note: The following is an interview originally published, in Spanish, in La Jornada of Mexico City on July 13. It was subsequently translated and published in the English language edition of Daily Granma, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Cuba. The following translation is unedited.) In a La Jornada newspaper interview published on Thursday, presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he is "totally determined not to permit a retreat of democracy in Mexico." Lopez Obrador heads a coalition that believes it won the Mexican presidency in the July 2nd elections. They have formally contested the results which gave a 0.6% victory to governing National Action Party (PAN) candidate Felipe Calderon. "We won¹t let them squash the hopes of millions of Mexicans. That would mean a backtracking to other periods thought to be overcome, when power circles elected the country¹s leaders instead of the people," said Lopez Obrador. The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) candidate pointed to a second reason for contesting the vote: "If Felipe Calderon wants to impose himself in the way we¹ve seen so far, through fraud and a hate campaign against his opponent, it¹s not hard to imagine how he would govern: without legitimacy, without scruples, without morals, without principles," added the former mayor of Mexico City. Some powerful groups, including some media, have asked him to accept the results issued by the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE in Spanish). Lopez Obrador responds: "If I do what they want, I would be throwing away not only my political capital but my dignity and my principles. I am not the type of traditional politician prone to yielding and debasing himself." SUBJECTING THE VOTE-CONTESTING STRATEGY TO PUBLIC APPROVAL Lopez Obrador said that at this Sunday¹s mass rally at the Zocalo Square in Mexico City, the second such gathering since the elections, he will announce strategies to fight the electoral fraud, which will be submitted for the approval of those present. The battle will not be easy --he emphasized-- because we are up against an entire State apparatus. "But have no doubt, I am going to fight to the end so that the democratic gains are not erased." "I have faith in the people. Our main defense is the consciousness of the citizenry. Independent of the misinformation campaigns, manipulation and the dirty war, they will not be able to erase the fact that the elections were fraudulent as the voting results announced by the Federal Electoral Institute differ from the will of the voters on July 2. We have shown it and we will continue doing so, because every day more evidence of the electoral fraud is being discovered." "That¹s why are demanding that the ballot boxes be opened, that there be a new recount, and people understand that. The slogan "vote by vote, polling booth by polling both did come from me. It came from the people. When I was planning this in the Zocalo there were already signs. This is a movement that has leadership, but it is a movement where the people mark the rhythm and the intensity." THE PEOPLE WILL PUT THINGS IN THEIR PLACE "When the outrage occurred they said the three powers had already decided and we had no hope, but the people took charge and put things in their place. It¹s true, the campaign against us is very strong, but the people are committed to defending democracy. Something that motivates me is that when [last] Thursday morning I called for a rally, two days later on Saturday, people turned out at the Zocalo Square. I am confident that the people are going to respond." Does it seem that the onslaught against you is greater now? "Yes, but the people are not stupid. If something has changed in these last years it is the mentality of the people. The elections were proof of that. It was all staged for us to be overwhelmed with the fear campaign and all the money spent on radio and television ads. The people turned out to vote and we won the election even with the entire State apparatus, the Business Coordinating Council and other privileged sectors against us. That should have been enough to squash us. But it wasn¹t, and even on Election Day they had to use fraud, falsifying the vote tally sheets. "If the people respond and the movement for democracy is consolidated we are going to triumph. I have not the least doubt. This would mean defeating the dark campaign in the media and the entire State apparatus, which is lined up to discourage, confuse, terrify and make anti-democracy prevail." Lopez Obrador repeated that the person responsible for deceiving the Mexican people is President Vicente Fox Quesada, and for that reason he called him "a traitor of democracy." "It¹s an offense, an act of treason, to reach the presidency and instead of advancing, give up what had been accomplished. I am not going to shrug my shoulders. I can¹t do it, because I have convictions and a sense of history." In a televised interview (Tuesday evening) you said you will go as far as the people decide. What does that stance mean? "In this process we are going to use democratic methods and all the decisions are going to be made after consultation. It¹s going to be the people that decide each step. Even on the most difficult issues we are going to find a mechanism so that every action is agreed upon by a majority and in that way the people define the course, rhythm and depth of the movement. It won¹t be only the leader¹s decision. "This puts aside the idea that the people won¹t stop at anything and act violently, which is irrational. I have confidence in our supporters, who are mature, very aware, and very politicized. The key is guiding it in a democratic way and making sure that the decisions to be made are well thought out." Are there risks of confrontations with members of Felipe Calderon¹s National Action Party (PAN), due to the anger among their supporters? "That must be avoided. We are going to continue insisting on that. I said in on Saturday and I am going to repeat it this Sunday. The people are going to understand that we can¹t fall into a provocation. If the people demonstrate peacefully it will be something extraordinary. So then, why fall into confrontation and insults? Why get mad? Let others get upset. We have reason on our side so, calmly, we are going see what the people think." Lopez Obrador says the ability to respond to the July 2 fraud is different than the one back in 1988. "Now there is more social organization. I think that¹s an element in our favor. The media isn¹t as closed, despite what we are seeing. In 1988 the blockade was total; there was far less space for expression and a less aware population. Another factor is that we have greater political representation, something normal after 18 years." His adversaries maintain that the PRD structures and the coalition erred on Election Day by not having representatives at a large number of polling booths. "I believe that yes we made mistakes but that that was not the deciding factor. We didn¹t act perfectly, there were errors, but that was not the deciding factor." He also discarded the version circulating in the radio, TV and print media that his coalition was over confident and didn¹t plan for a possible defeat. "No, we were organized as best we could. Those who participated should be recognized for confronting the State power structure as they did. I don¹t know if my destiny is to be president or not. But I have no doubt that I will fight to the end so that the country¹s democratic spaces are not eliminated." What¹s the end? The future will tell. We will not allow for imposition or for undemocratic methods to establish an illegitimate government that was not elected by the people." Do you trust the Federal Juridical Power¹s Electoral Tribunal? "I believe in the people, I have always believed in the people. I would like to see the institutions of my country act with honesty and integrity. However, it isn¹t a straight jacket, you must understand that the institutions are in the hands of people that may have principles and honesty and also others that don¹t act in such a manner." Would you give the tribunal a vote of confidence? "A vote of confidence, no, because the institutions are in very bad shape. We are going to wait for the results. I hope the magistrates act honestly." (Version of the interview published in the Thursday edition of La Jornada) ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹ (DAILY GRANMA, JULY 15, 2006, HAVANA, CUBA) -- -------------------------------------------------------- Escaping the Matrix website http://escapingthematrix.org/ cyberjournal website http://cyberjournal.org subscribe cyberjournal list mailto:•••@••.••• Posting archives http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/ Blogs: cyberjournal forum http://cyberjournal-rkm.blogspot.com/ Achieving real democracy http://harmonization.blogspot.com/ for readers of ETM http://matrixreaders.blogspot.com/ Community Empowerment http://empowermentinitiatives.blogspot.com/ Blogger made easy http://quaylargo.com/help/ezblogger.html
