Mexico leftists disrupt Fox speech in vote fight

MEXICO CITY - Leftist Mexican lawmakers protesting what they said was election fraud seized the podium to try to stop President Vicente Fox from making his last state of the nation speech today in Congress.

Dozens of legislators marched up to the podium, some with banners calling Fox a traitor to democracy, shortly before he was to arrive and deliver his speech. Congress' speaker ordered a recess after the lawmakers refused to return to their seats.

The left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution accuses Fox of complicity in a massive fraud at the July 2 presidential election to give victory to conservative ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon.

Mexican riot police earlier tried to seal off Congress to protect President Vicente Fox .

Police deployed 6000 officers equipped with water cannons and blocked nearby streets and subway stations with metal barricades to stop protesters from massing.

Fox, who steps down in December, was to deliver his annual state of the nation speech. Aides said he would not be cowed by leftists who aimed to disrupt him.

"He will give a speech to the nation. The constitution requires it and he will do it," a spokeswoman said.

Fox was hailed as a democratic hero in 2000 when he was elected, ending 71 years of one-party rule, and again enjoys high popularity ratings as he nears the end of his term. However, political unrest over the contested July 2 election may cloud his legacy.

Leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador alleges that Fox fraudulently helped fellow conservative Felipe Calderon win the election, and has vowed to make Mexico ungovernable.

The top electoral court this week threw out anti-poverty campaigner Lopez Obrador's claims of vote-rigging, and is widely expected to take the next step of handing victory to former energy minister Calderon.

The leftist railed against what he says are Mexico's corrupt institutions, such as the courts.

"To hell with their institutions," he told a rally of supporters in Mexico City's central Zocalo square. But he called on them not to march to the Congress building, where some had feared violent clashes.

"Our movement will always be peaceful," he said. "We will not fall into any trap or allow ourselves to be provoked."

Some followers were disappointed they would not march on the legislature a few miles (kilometres) away. "We need a bit of action, no?" said Joel Mendoza, 49, from Acapulco. "Some of us would liked to have gone," he said.

Lawmakers from Lopez Obrador's Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, refused to say how they would disrupt Fox's speech but Mexican media said they might try to shout Fox down or physically stop him from taking the podium.

Leftist deputies flashed the "V" for victory sign as Congress sang the national anthem at the start of Friday's session.

Deputies from Fox's National Action Party, or PAN, whose 52 senators and 206 deputies form the largest single bloc in Congress, vowed to protect him.

Calderon, who won the vote by 244,000 votes out of 41 million, is expected to be named president-elect in coming days after the court rejected Lopez Obrador's fraud claims and refused the full recount he demanded.

Aside from their allegation of vote tampering during the count, leftists accuse Fox of illegally aiding Calderon's campaign and say business leaders broke campaign finance laws to support the ruling party.

Fox's approval rating hit 68 per cent, its highest level since 2001, in a poll in the Reforma newspaper on Friday. Another poll in El Universal showed him with a 67 per cent rating.

- REUTERS