Like a lot of Americans, I don't stay abreast of news from south of the border; however, since the Mexican presidential elections, held earlier this year, I've sporadically followed the headlines coming out of that country. And, again and again, I've reacted in awe and admiration at how liberal Mexicans have defended their democracy and demanded that their constitutional rights be respected. Since the bitterly divided presidential elections, where the liberal candidate López Obrador was denied the presidency due to alleged fraud, liberals in Mexico have held mass rallies demanding that every vote be counted. And, yesterday, just as Vincente Fox was about to deliver Mexico's state of the union speech before the legislature, supporters of López Obrador prevented Fox from taking the podium. This is how the NYT reports it (as an aside, I find the NYT's frequent use of the qualifier "Leftist" curious):
Leftist lawmakers who have charged that fraud marred the presidential election in July staged a protest inside Congress that prevented President Vicente Fox from making his final state of the union speech to lawmakers on Friday, ending a tense day of political brinksmanship here.
Federal riot police officers and soldiers with water cannons had sealed off the Mexican Congress with miles of steel fence to protect Mr. Fox from thousands of leftist protesters camped out in the city’s center.
The president had vowed he would give his last state of the union message, despite threats from the leftist candidate, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and his followers to stop him.
At the last minute, however, Mr. López Obrador backed down. In front of at least 5,000 supporters in the capital’s central square, Mr. López Obrador, the former mayor of this sprawling city, told his followers it would be a mistake to confront the barricades and the police surrounding Congress. He said the “fascist” government of Mr. Fox would seize on any clashes between the police and the protesters to justify the brutal repression of his movement.
“We are not going to fall into any trap, we are not going to fall into any provocation,” he told the crowd, which had waited through a rainstorm to hear him speak. “Only those who are not in the right resort to force and violence, and we are in the right.”
Still, lawmakers from Mr. López Obrador’s Democratic Revolution Party protested inside the Chamber of Deputies, taking over the podium just before President Fox was to speak at 7 p.m. Several waved Mexican flags and signs calling Mr. Fox “a traitor to democracy.” The president of the chamber, Deputy Jorge Zermiño, was forced to call a recess.
Mr. Fox arrived 15 minutes later. As he entered the chamber, wearing the traditional red, white and green presidential sash, leaders of his party said it would be impossible for him to speak. He dropped off his yearly report, turned on his heel and left.
After reading the headlines that have come out of Mexico since July of this year, My most immediate reaction has consistently been, Just imagine if back in 2000 the Democratic party and us, American liberals, had been as courageous as our Mexican neighbors?
Of course, back in 2000, the political climate in the US was nothing like the present political climate is in Mexico; and, too, Al Gore was no López Obrador, that is: Gore in 2000 was more or less an establishment candidate, not representing a grassroots movement, unlike López Obrador -- who is an unabashed liberal and a challenger to Mexico's political establishment, with a grassroots movement supporting him.
Since 2000, however, we've seen the birth of something resembling an active liberal grassroots movement in this country that is inspiring many across America, and that is challenging the entrenched establishment of the Democratic party. Hopefully liberals in America will never let 2000 happen again, until then I'll continue to react in awe and admiration at how liberals in Mexico defend democracy and their constitution.