By Greg Flakus
Mexico City
30 November 2006

In Mexico, a standoff between rival parties continues in the lower house of the congress, which is to be the site of the presidential inauguration on Friday. Some Latin American leaders have canceled trips to attend the event, citing concerns over security. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Mexico City, a violent incident in the congress during the inauguration ceremony could represent a huge setback for Mexican democracy and the country's image in the world.

Mexican legislators fight in Congress (28 Nov 2006)

The standoff began Tuesday, when members of the ruling National Action Party, known as the PAN, took control of the main platform where the new president traditionally takes the oath of office.

They did this after repeated threats from members of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, and other leftist parties, to block President-elect Felipe Calderon from taking office.

Calderon placard at a demonstration in Mexico City

Outgoing President Vicente Fox has made no secret of his disdain for Lopez Obrador, and, in one of his last public statements before leaving office Friday, he condemned the PRD actions as an embarrassment for Mexico.

He said the situation in the House of Deputies was shameful and foolish, given that more than 85 percent of Mexicans in recent polls back Felipe Calderon as the legal president-elect, and reject Lopez Obrador as what Fox called "the legitimate president."

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

"Lopez Obrador believes that the system is rotten to the core, and he will move continually around the country in what, for him, is a moral crusade," he said. "So, I think, it is incumbent on the next chief executive to demonstrate to the poor of the country, who represent Lopez Obrador's major constituency, that the new administration is sensitive to their needs, and there need to be specific projects that are targeted to uplift the downtrodden."

But, in a VOA interview, Mexico City-based political analyst Ana Maria Salazar, worries that Calderon may not be able to accomplish anything, given the divisions in congress evidenced by this week's violent clashes.

Ana Maria Salazar

Salazar says a lot depends on the Institutional Revolutionary Party, known as the PRI, which controlled Mexico for more than 70 years before being unseated by President Fox six years ago. The PRI, which has fallen into third place as an electoral force, can now exert great power in congress by swinging its votes to either the PAN or the PRD.

But open acrimony in congress could make even normal voting procedures difficult, says Salazar, and there is much to be done.

"Next week, the Mexican congress, the lower house, the diputados [deputies], have to start negotiating next year's budget," she said. "It is very hard to imagine how they are going to do it, considering what has happened in the last couple of days."

Felipe Calderon holds up a newspaper with headline saying 'YES, Calderon, elected unanimously,' 5 Sept 2006