Poll turns nasty in Mexico

The fight over Mexico's contested presidential election is widening a deep political divide and turning increasingly nasty.

The leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been demonised by foes as a ranting class warrior but hailed in the streets by huge crowds of followers.

Lopez Obrador, a fiery left-winger who narrowly lost the July 2 presidential election, says the vote was rigged against him and he is demanding Mexico's highest electoral court reverse the result.

"You want civil war!" a full-page advertisement in one newspaper last week screamed at him. The ad, placed by what appeared to be a private citizen, accused the leftist of treason and seeking "to divide and bleed a people that is united and at peace".

On the other side, posters portraying conservative Felipe Calderon as a Nazi are showing up in Mexico City's subway and a group of people harassed him as he left a meeting with trade union leaders earlier this week.

The election split Mexico between left and right, giving Calderon a victory of some 240,000 votes, or 0.6 percentage point, over Lopez Obrador.

The leftist, 52, challenged Calderon on Friday to accept a vote-for-vote recount of ballots and promised to keep up massive street protests if the court did not call a recount.

- REUTERS