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In Mexico's protest capital, demonstrators seek bigger stunts to get public's attention

By Julie Watson
ASSOCIATED PRESS

9:37 a.m. August 18, 2006

MEXICO CITY – Street cleaners throwing bagfuls of their own blood at the doors of the Senate, potbellied farmers marching naked through the financial district – such street theater is now the norm in Mexico, where citizens long ago learned to separate political rhetoric from reality.
The indifference has challenged the demonstrators, furious over the disputed presidential election, to dream up bigger and better stunts to get attention.

That's why some fear Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's leftist supporters will turn to violence in hopes of propelling him into the presidency – even though conservative Felipe Calderon has a slight lead.
Before Lopez Obrador's supporters blockaded the heart of the megalopolis of 20 million, marches for different causes intersected almost daily en route to the Zocalo, the country's most important plaza. Police rarely do more than scramble to clear the streets of traffic until marchers pass by.

In other countries, a weekslong blockade of key streets might provoke authorities to drag away demonstrators and release tear gas. In the U.S., they might be relegated to “free speech zones.”

But even socially conservative Mexicans have grown used to seeing female farmers standing naked on barrels, demanding justice in obscure land disputes. Some protesters are bused in and paid by political parties and unions.

For seven decades, the Institutional Revolutionary Party allowed street protests as an escape valve, letting Mexicans feel like they had a voice in government while authorities wheeled and dealed behind closed doors, often buying off organizers or threatening them until the demonstrations stopped.

President Vicente Fox prides himself on doing away with back-room deals, but his refusal to get involved in local disputes has allowed protests to flourish. Despite pleas from the governor, the federal government won't help clear protesters from the historic square in the tourist city of Oaxaca.

“It's getting to the level of ridiculousness,” said Mexico City radio commentator Ana Maria Salazar. “You see 10 neighbors angry about not having water in their building go out to protest in the streets. You don't need many people to paralyze the city's important avenues because the authorities don't step in.”

Lopez Obrador has taken the tradition to a new level.

For nearly three weeks, his protesters have camped in tents where six lanes of traffic once zoomed down Reforma Avenue, past the capital's museums, stock market and corporate headquarters. City officials who answer to Lopez Obrador's Democratic Revolution Party have supplied and protected the tent cities, even providing electricity and water.

Each morning, protesters fan out to blockade a government building, financial institution or embassy. They've also taken over toll booths on highways outside the capital, briefly allowing thousands free passage into the city.

Tensions are building over the hours-long traffic jams. Thousands of motorists honk in protest at banners saying “Excuse the inconvenience, democracy under construction.” Other drivers honk in support.

“The city has put up with a lot, but this is crossing the line,” said Rafael Zerato, 47, a businessman who had to hop over tent ropes in his pinstripe suit.

Even as Lopez Obrador's followers dominate the news, smaller groups hold their own protests daily throughout Mexico City. This week, students blocked roads because they weren't accepted to a particular university, while others demonstrated against the protesters.

Fernando Diaz, an activist who holds art classes outside his protest tent on Reforma, said the biggest challenge is keeping the momentum going while holding back the radical fringe.

“So many have taken their clothes off that no one even looks now,” he said. “Hunger strikes don't work because there's already a lot of hunger. Violence is tempting and there's always the danger that groups will act on their own. But there's got to be a new way.”

While usually disciplined and peaceful, protests have occasionally turned violent. Just this week, the Lopez Obrador demonstrations left the protection of city police, who support Lopez Obrador, and tried to take over parts of the sprawling Congress, clashing with federal police stationed to protect the building.

Some fear rising tensions will explode when the Federal Electoral Tribunal declares a president-elect or annuls the July 2 election – a decision due by Sept. 6. Lopez Obrador's supporters now talk of an escalating campaign of lawlessness, pledging that if Calderon takes office, he will be a president “under siege.”