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Is there a thread on this yet? This is a big deal for the Western Hemisphere, but I didn't here anything about it in the mainstream news. This guy was probably going to win.
Lopez Obrador is taken out of 2006 Mexican presidential race
Lopez Obrador is taken out of 2006 Mexican presidential race
Lopez Obrador is taken out of 2006 Mexican presidential race
10:39 2005-04-08
Congress stripped Mexico City's leftist mayor of his immunity from prosecution Thursday, clearing the way for his arrest in a vote that could also block him from running in the 2006 presidential race, which he leads in the polls.
The House vote against Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador which came on the same day he declared his presidential candidacy could force him to stand trial on charges of ignoring a court order to stop construction of a road on contested private land.
If a judge approves federal prosecutors' request for Lopez Obrador's arrest, the mayor will be removed from office to stand trial. People facing criminal charges are barred from running for office under most interpretations of Mexican law. But if the court dismisses the case, Lopez Obrador would remain mayor and run for president.
Earlier in the day, the populist mayor told a rally of over 100,000 supporters in the capital's central plaza that he would turn himself in, go to jail, refuse to accept bail and later act as his own attorney in court, reports ABC News.
According to the New York Times, hundreds of thousands of people were gathered in Mexico City's central square throughout the day to protest the action, a rare proceeding known in Mexico as a "desafuero," in which Mayor AndrÈs Manuel LÑpez Obrador was stripped of his official immunity so he could stand trial in a minor land dispute.
In terms of political rights, the Mexican Constitution holds suspects guilty until proved innocent, so Mr. Lopez will be banned from politics until the end of a trial.
Legislators in the 500-member Chamber of Deputies began debating the charges about 10 a.m. in a scathing session that continued uninterrupted until the evening, when the vote was held. Of the 489 who attended the session, 360 favored lifting the immunity, 127 were opposed and there were 2 abstentions.
Political analysts said that the proceedings were a critical test in this country's transition to a full-fledged democracy that began just five years ago when Mexicans broke seven decades of single-party rule with the peaceful election of Vicente Fox, the first president to come from an opposition party.
The protests, which had largely ended by late Thursday, brought comparisons to the recent pro-democracy demonstrations in the Ukraine that helped lift Viktor A. Yuschenko to power. But while Mr. Lopez said support for him would grow, his adversaries seemed confident the protests would die out soon.
NR
10:39 2005-04-08
Congress stripped Mexico City's leftist mayor of his immunity from prosecution Thursday, clearing the way for his arrest in a vote that could also block him from running in the 2006 presidential race, which he leads in the polls.
The House vote against Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador which came on the same day he declared his presidential candidacy could force him to stand trial on charges of ignoring a court order to stop construction of a road on contested private land.
If a judge approves federal prosecutors' request for Lopez Obrador's arrest, the mayor will be removed from office to stand trial. People facing criminal charges are barred from running for office under most interpretations of Mexican law. But if the court dismisses the case, Lopez Obrador would remain mayor and run for president.
Earlier in the day, the populist mayor told a rally of over 100,000 supporters in the capital's central plaza that he would turn himself in, go to jail, refuse to accept bail and later act as his own attorney in court, reports ABC News.
According to the New York Times, hundreds of thousands of people were gathered in Mexico City's central square throughout the day to protest the action, a rare proceeding known in Mexico as a "desafuero," in which Mayor AndrÈs Manuel LÑpez Obrador was stripped of his official immunity so he could stand trial in a minor land dispute.
In terms of political rights, the Mexican Constitution holds suspects guilty until proved innocent, so Mr. Lopez will be banned from politics until the end of a trial.
Legislators in the 500-member Chamber of Deputies began debating the charges about 10 a.m. in a scathing session that continued uninterrupted until the evening, when the vote was held. Of the 489 who attended the session, 360 favored lifting the immunity, 127 were opposed and there were 2 abstentions.
Political analysts said that the proceedings were a critical test in this country's transition to a full-fledged democracy that began just five years ago when Mexicans broke seven decades of single-party rule with the peaceful election of Vicente Fox, the first president to come from an opposition party.
The protests, which had largely ended by late Thursday, brought comparisons to the recent pro-democracy demonstrations in the Ukraine that helped lift Viktor A. Yuschenko to power. But while Mr. Lopez said support for him would grow, his adversaries seemed confident the protests would die out soon.
NR
Master Zen for Dictator of Mexico!
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