Lopez Obrador pushes for power

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Mexico's leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador plans to seek a popular mandate to make him a force to contend with despite losing the presidential election to his pro-business rival, Felipe Calderon.

Mr. Lopez Obrador, who won in most of Mexico's poorer states, is calling on the people to attend a National Democratic Council on Sept. 16, during which they will hold their own elections.

"We hope the NDC can a elect a legal and democratic president," Jorge Antulio Romero, spokesman for the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), told The Washington Times in an e-mail.

Mr. Lopez Obrador has vowed to establish an alternative government that would promote his party's social welfare programs. Analysts see the move as a tactic to ensure his role as the country's most powerful opposition figure.

"What he is trying to do is bank on the fact that he was able to capture the majority of the vote in 16 out of 32 states, and legitimize his transformation from presidential candidate to a leader of the opposition," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, director of the Mexico Project at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"Right now, he is a defeated presidential candidate unwilling to accept the outcome of the election," Mr. Peschard-Sverdrup said.

A poll published by leading Mexican newspaper Reforma said 62 percent of those questioned think Mr. Calderon won the elections, and 55 percent see the election as transparent after the electoral court's review that affirmed Mr. Calderon's victory.

The survey also showed that 68 percent rejected any calls to civil disobedience by the PRD, and 69 percent were against Mr. Lopez Obrador's call for a national convention on Sept. 16, Mexico's independence day.

In his effort to remain a relevant political player, Mr. Lopez Obrador has led his supporters to take over Mexico's central Zocalo Square in Mexico City, creating a tent town in the area's main streets.

From that platform, he has challenged the results of the July 2 election and laid moral claim on the country's leadership, accusing the victorious National Action Party of being elitist and corrupt.

"He knows it is now almost impossible for him to become the constitutional president, so now he wants to show that he is the moral opposition, and he is going to use this to be a thorn in the side of Felipe Calderon," said Andrew Selee, director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Whatever opposition role he assumes, Mr. Lopez Obrador will remain outside the established political system and an uncontrollable force.

He becomes "the elephant in the room," Mr. Peschard-Sverdrup said. "It would be very hard for Calderon to ignore him."

Mr. Lopez Obrador's popularity among his party base has eroded in the past few weeks. Meanwhile, his rhetoric has become increasingly radical, appealing to more left-wing elements. Few think he would be able to ignite nationwide upheaval unless provoked.

"I think there is the possibility of isolated clashes," said Mr. Peschard-Sverdrup, "but it is premature to talk about civil unrest."