End the Mexican Standoff
López Obrador, however, refuses to accept those results, even though his civil revolt since the election had caused his support to drop to 30 percent, compared with Calderón's 54 percent, and now says he will convene his own National Assembly and set up a parallel government.
Such behavior threatens to undermine the ability of elected authorities at all levels in Mexico to govern effectively, while potentially encouraging extremists to take violent actions on López Obrador's behalf. This is tantamount to kidnapping Mexican democracy, much like the actions of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, who obeys the law only when it suits him.
López Obrador must fail. He must be limited by the constitutional separation of powers, the press, the respected Federal Electoral Institute, the powers of the governors, the individual Mexican states, the church (which already opposes López Obrador's power grab,) and the Army.
Truly, Mexican democracy is not perfect. Losers often cry foul and try to destroy the legitimacy of the victor in an atmosphere suffused with political and drug-related violence; Mexico's major cities are overwhelmed by crime, especially by kidnapping. Still, there remains genuine cause for optimism as Mexico enters the 21st century. Fiscal responsibility has become the norm, vast expanses of the economy have been privatized, and the North American Free Trade Agreement is generating nearly $200 billion in trade-all in the context of creating more equitable economic policies to combat poverty and inequality.
Forceful American support for the legitimacy of the election of Felipe Calderón will be a critical step in continuing the progress of our important southern neighbor, of whom it has long been said, "So far from God, so close to the U.S."
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