http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N06417219.htm
Mexico's Fox, seen as a fallen hero of democracy 06 Apr 2005 20:26:41 GMT Source: Reuters By Brian Winter MEXICO CITY, April 6 (Reuters) - President Vicente Fox, once known as a hero of democracy for ending 71 years of one-party rule, may stain his legacy by trying to destroy the presidential hopes of Mexico's most popular politician. The conservative rancher and former Coca-Cola executive was elected in 2000 promising a new era after the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, used vote rigging and corruption to hold on to power for decades. But some historians and other observers say Fox has betrayed his principles by supporting a drive to oust Mexico City's leftist mayor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, from the 2006 presidential race with a questionable legal case. "This doesn't seem consistent with what Fox supposedly stands for," said Nicolas Shumway, head of Latin American studies at the University of Texas at Austin. "He is certainly doing everything possible to eliminate the most popular candidate out there. You see the same pattern of secrecy and deception as with the PRI. This is just another in a series of disappointments with Fox." Lopez Obrador is accused of violating a court order in a land dispute in 2000 by building a road to a hospital on private property. Congress will meet on Thursday and is expected to strip the mayor of his legal immunity so he can face the charges. That could bar Lopez Obrador from running in the 2006 race in which he is the prohibitive favorite. Lopez Obrador, who scares many Wall Street investors and business leaders with his populist policies, says the case is politically motivated and accuses Fox of being the mastermind. Financial markets have sagged in recent days amid fears of a major political crisis. Hundreds of thousands of Lopez Obrador supporters plan to protest in the streets on Thursday. "Lopez Obrador's disqualification would be a disaster for Mexico's political system, and perhaps for its long-term stability," the Washington Post said in an editorial. FRAUD AND FORCE The newspaper said on Wednesday that Fox's 2000 election victory would be "tainted" if the mayor was unable to run, and called the case against Lopez Obrador "a legal trick." "Mexico will return to the era when it was ruled by fraud and force; the next president will be discredited at home and abroad," the Post said. Fox insists he is allowing courts to do their job without interference, but analysts say the matter is highly political because Congress holds the key to the case going forward. Members of both Fox's party and the PRI voted in favor of the mayor's impeachment in a committee hearing last week. "It is very clear that Fox came down on the side of proceeding against Lopez Obrador," said Federico Estevez, a political analyst. "It will have an impact on Fox's legacy because people will wonder why he went the extra distance to go after this guy." Fox may fear his free-market economic policies, which have produced stable but unremarkable growth, would be undone by Lopez Obrador. The mayor has vowed to increase the state's role in the economy in line with other leftist leaders elected in Latin America in recent years. "I think Fox, and maybe the PRI too, are motivated by sheer terror that everything he has worked for will be destroyed," said a government official who asked to remain unnamed. Even those who say Lopez Obrador may be guilty of contempt of court wonder if the charges merit his removal from the presidential race. Some compare the mayor's case to the impeachment trial of U.S. President Bill Clinton, when senators decided perjury charges did not justify his removal from the presidency. "I think it's the same kind of thing," Shumway said. 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