Calderon Calls for Calm After Win in Mexico
By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press Writer
34 minutes ago

MEXICO CITY - Felipe Calderon spoke of his hopes for a U.S. immigration accord Friday, while his leftist rival laid plans to deny him the presidency and urged supporters to take to the streets to protest the election results.

Meeting with foreign reporters, Calderon said he hoped to reach an accord with Washington leading eventually to the legalization of millions of undocumented Mexicans living in the U.S. _ something that eluded Mexico's outgoing president and draws strong opposition to the north.

The conservative politician also said he would seek help for Mexican farmers who will be hurt when a clause under the North American Free Trade allows U.S. corn and bean imports in 2008.

Calderon expressed confidence Mexico's political uncertainty following his razor-thin victory in Sunday's election would not destabilize the country and said his opponent, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, wouldn't be an obstacle to his new government.

Lopez Obrador's Democratic Revolution Party, meanwhile, laid the foundation for a long, tough fight over Thursday's official vote count that gave Calderon the victory with a margin of less than 244,000 votes out of a total 41 million ballots.

The party said its legal challenge urging top electoral court to order a recount of every ballot cast will allege vote fraud at thousands of polling places and campaign meddling by President Vicente Fox and business groups.

Calderon's campaign ads also were illegally harsh, a top Lopez Obrador adviser said.

There were scattered protests in favor of the leftist candidate but the capital was calm. Lopez Obrador, who has a history of mobilizing millions, first called on his supporters to turn out Saturday in Mexico City's main square.

But his coalition later urged mass rallies coast to coast, while pledging that the protests would be "peaceful and law-abiding."

"This movement that will begin tomorrow must reach every corner of the country," said Alberto Anaya of the Labor Party, speaking for Lopez Obrador's Coalition for the Good of All.

Democratic Revolution Party members also urged foreign governments not to recognize a Calderon government until the legal process is complete, although on Friday, Panama's Foreign Minister Samuel Lewis Navarro and U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza congratulated Calderon.

"While I understand that the electoral process is not yet complete, I believe that the actions of Mexico's current administration and the political parties, and the transparency of the (vote count), have not only strengthened civic pride, but assured Mexico of its place in the world as a prime example of the worlds strong and vital democracies," Garza said.

No candidate can be declared "president elect" until the Federal Electoral Tribunal weighs any complaints of illegal campaign practices and certifies the vote count.

The parties have until Monday to file complaints with the seven-judge court, which can order investigations of the evidence, change the official results and even order new elections. It has thrown out two gubernatorial elections but has never judged such a tight presidential race.

The tribunal has until Sept. 6 to certify the winner, and its decision is final. The new president takes office Dec. 1.

Calderon, who represented Fox's National Action Party, topped the official count with 15 million votes, or 35.89 percent of the 41.8 million cast. Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor, got 14.8 million, or 35.31 percent.

Lopez Obrador's legal appeal will focus on about 50,000 polling places where not all of the ballots distributed were accounted for, as well as on the angry rhetoric of the campaign, his aide, Claudia Sheinbaum, told The Associated Press.

Party members also planned to complain about alleged manipulations by Fox designed to help his party in the polls, such as a pre-election boost in government spending.

Democratic Revolution also accused the head of the country's electoral agency of acting "illegally" and claimed Calderon exceeded campaign spending limits.

Calderon surged in the polls after running ads comparing Lopez Obrador to radical Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Electoral officials later banned the ads for violating election laws.

Calderon said Friday he was sorry to have "disappointed" Venezuelan officials who spoke out against his candidacy, but promised to work to strengthen relations with the South American country despite his personal misgivings about Chavez.

Calderon also vowed to work for all Mexicans and try to close the gap between rich and poor.

Subcomandante Marcos, leader of the former Zapatista rebel movement in the southern state of Chiapas, wasn't having any of the unity talk.

Marcos alleged in an interview published Friday in the newspaper La Jornada that fraud stole victory from Lopez Obrador, but he also reiterated that the Zapatistas did not support the leftist candidate.

"We are not friends," said Marcos, who led a 1994 uprising in the name of democracy, anti-capitalism and Indian rights. "We are enemies of all the political class."

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