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Fracas mars Mexico inauguration
(BBC News, 1 December 2006)
Felipe Calderon has been sworn in as Mexico's president to jeers, after brawls in Congress between lawmakers, divided by the nation's tight election. . . . Just an hour before the ceremony, deputies seized the speaker's platform and blocked the doors of the chamber. . . . Members of the left-wing (sic) Democratic Revolution Party say Mr Calderon, a conservative, won July's poll by fraud. . . . The row followed an unusual midnight ceremony in which the outgoing president handed power to Mr Calderon. . . . In the closed-door ceremony, Vicente Fox handed over power to Mr Calderon, who described the event as the start of the process of taking possession of the presidency. . . . . . . However, opposition deputies argued that Mr Calderon could not become president without taking the oath of office, as outlined in Mexico's constitution. . . . Surrounded by ruling party lawmakers and flanked by Mr Fox, the new president swore to uphold the constitution. . . . The national anthem was played, and the new president was ushered out of the chamber, as ruling party deputies cheered: "He did it!" . . . Dignitaries who arrived amid the chaos included Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. . . . The Democratic Revolution Party - whose candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, lost the run-off by half a percentage point - has massed crowds of supporters in the capital. . . . Mr Lopez Obrador, who claims he was robbed of the presidency, said he plans to march peacefully with his supporters to the national auditorium, where Mr Calderon is to address the nation. . . . Thousands of riot police have been deployed. . . . Mr Lopez Obrador last week launched a "parallel government" in Mexico City and held an unofficial swearing-in ceremony.

posted by LoZo 1:23 PM