AMLO TAKES TO THE STAGE: HOLDS FIRST MEETING WITH

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 003832

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR MX
SUBJECT: AMLO TAKES TO THE STAGE: HOLDS FIRST MEETING WITH
SUPPORTERS

REF: A. A) MEXICO 3747


B. B) MEXICO 3422

Summary


1. Presidential candidate for the Coalition for the Good of
All, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO),held his first
post-electoral "informative meeting" in Mexico's central
plaza, the Zocalo, on Saturday, July 8. AMLO used the venue
to express his concerns with the election process and the
Federal Electoral Institute's (IFE) alleged lack of
objectivity. He also presented some of the facts supporting
his challenge of the results and called on supporters around
the country to rally around him through non-violent protest
and join him in Mexico City for the next "informative
meeting," called for Sunday, July 16. By Sunday evening,
AMLO's representative before the IFE, Horacio Duarte, had
filed the first set of appeals before the Electoral Tribunal
(TEPJF),the total number of which will exceed 50,000
nationwide. End Summary.

Rally Call


2. On Thursday, July 6, hours before the IFE finished its
retabulation of the July 2 election, AMLO held a news
conference to announce that he was not accepting the IFE's
results and would contest them with the TEPJF. He called
supporters to an "informative meeting" to be held at Mexico
City's Zocalo on Saturday, July 8, at 5:00 pm (ref A).
Supporters began gathering at 1:00 pm Saturday and the crowd
grew to between 150,000 and 280,000, depending upon the
source, by the time AMLO made his way to the stage. Once
there, AMLO thanked supporters for defending his alternative
project for the nation, "capable of creating the necessary
legal and economic reforms, a more dignified political
system, better social conditions, and less inequality and
more justice." He also told them that it was no longer
simply about him and the Presidency, but that it was about
the "fundamental will to change the country" - asking
supporters to continue defending the project to the bitter
end.

Enemies of Democracy


3. AMLO eventually stepped back into familiar territory,
reminding those gathered that the attacks against him had
started long ago during last year's desafuero process,
culminating during the campaign's "dirty war" and now again
as the decision heads to the TEPJF. He accused his opponents
of buying radio and television space to defame him publicly,
overspending by millions of dollars, and utilizing government
institutions and public resources to support their candidate.
AMLO called President Fox a "traitor to democracy" for
dedicating so much time to attacking his candidacy and for
using democratic advances to win in 2000, only to betray
those same democratic advances in 2006. AMLO also attacked
the IFE for allegedly not acting impartially, accusing it of
manipulating the electoral computing system and the
dissemination of information.


4. AMLO assured his supporters he had sufficient evidence to
prove these accusations and more, and that on Sunday, July 9,
he would officially challenge the election before the TEPJF.
He told supporters he would ask the Tribunal to "clean up the
elections" and count each vote in every voting booth. He
explained that during the retabulation process, numerous
irregularities were found in those voting booths that they
had been allowed to recount, and that he had evidence to
prove that similar irregularities existed in many more. He
also said he will appeal to the Supreme Court to investigate
incidents that constitute a "violation of the public vote and
illegality of the entire electoral process." AMLO assured
the crowd that he was victorious on July 2 and that a full
vote count will overturn IFE's results. He called on the
Tribunal to be mindful of the historic decision it is about
to make, and to the military to guard the electoral district
offices so no one can tamper with the ballots. He even
called on radio and television stations to continue informing
the public on what is happening and not to concede to
pressure from the federal government and other political
adversaries.

Next Steps


5. AMLO closed by calling supporters to assist in a "national
march for democracy" starting Wednesday, July 12. He asked
political party leaders, congressional candidates, governors,
municipal presidents and local representatives, artists,
intellectuals and writers to help organize groups in all of
Mexico's 300 electoral districts, to march toward Mexico

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City. These groups will convene in Mexico City on Sunday,
July 16, for a march into the Zocalo, where AMLO plans to
host his second "informative meeting." He called on
supporters to make this march peaceful and warned them not to
be provoked into violence by their enemies. He also stated
that he did not want these marches to affect other citizens
and asked his supporters to avoid closing down highways or
city streets. AMLO also asked his supporters to each bring
ten more people to attend next Sunday's meeting. In addition
to the national marches, AMLO also called for volunteers to
form regional and local committees to inform the public on
what is happening and counterattack his adversaries' own
information strategies, which he stated were being used to
misinform and confuse the public. Finally, he asked
supporters to remain united and confident and to remember
that this is more about preventing Mexico's democratic
regression than about the plight of one man.

Misleading Claims


6. In a press conference 7/10 AMLO showed videotapes that
allegedly supported his allegations of malfeasance in the
elections -- but the charges were quickly rebutted. In one,
an individual is seen feeding several ballots into the ballot
box for deputies -- but the individual quickly explained that
he was simply putting incorrectly deposited ballots in the
correct box during the initial tabulation, and the PRD
representative at the balloting site reportedly concurred
with this action. In another, voting officials argue with
the PRD representative and refuse to open a disputed voting
box to count the votes. What the tape doesn't show,
according to PAN officials, is that the voting box was
finally opened and the PAN won an additional 200 votes.

Comment


7. Poloff spoke to a number of AMLO campaign contacts
Saturday evening, all of whom told us that AMLO's strategy
was two-fold. On the one hand, he sought to challenge the
election and appeal to the Tribunal within the framework of
the law, and on the other hand, to pressure the Tribunal
through a "show of force" in the same way he pressured
politicians and the Fox administration to drop the charges
against him during last year's desafuero process (intended to
remove AMLO's political immunity and bar him from running for
President). Many of the contacts, however, did not appear to
be convinced the strategy would work again this time, citing
the difference between the Tribunal's position and that of
politicians. By Sunday evening, AMLO had completed the first
step in both strategies as Horacio Duarte presented the first
tranche of challenges to Mexico City's 15th Electoral
District. In addition to the formal challenge of the results
in specific ballot boxes, the Coalition also formulated a
800-page document of "abstract causes" for AMLO's defeat.
AMLO is also reportedly planning recourse to the Supreme
Court although the Constitution and precedent clearly
establish the TEPJF as the final arbiter of the elections.
End Comment.


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