Most Moving Forward in Mexico

Mexico City's El Universal reports this morning that Felipe Calderon has received calls of congratulations from the United States, Spain, and Canada. Other governments have extended congratulations as well.

It looks like AMLO is one of few who can't read the handwriting on the wall. Even the leader of the PRD contingent in the Congress says Calderon 'no es el presidente electo de México hasta que el Tribunal lo ratifique y estamos seguros de que los magistrados revisarán las impugnaciones que le darán el triunfo a López Obrador.' This translates loosely as 'Calderon isn't the President-elect of Mexico until the judicial tribunal ratifies it and we are sure that the magistrates will review the complaints that AMLO refers to them.' If I were AMLO, I would have been looking for a stronger vote of confidence.

AMLO's team says that they are not looking to anull the results of the election, and that AMLO is not willing to accept the invitation of Calderon to meet. The campaign spokesman is rather dismissive on this point, asking 'why do they want to invite AMLO to work with them if he's a danger to Mexico?'

Madrazo on the other hand, will meet with Calderon. But given the response of his party to the spanking he just led them to, he may be planning on begging Calderon for a job.

In a clear demonstration that things are moving forward, the lead headline on El Universal is 'Legislative Pacts will Be Complicated,' noting that the legislature will be divided into three roughly equal party blocs. The PAN will hold 206 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 52 in the Senate. The PRD will have 160 in the Chamber and 36 in the Senate. The PRI was saved by the seats it added through proportional representation, so it will have 121 in the Chamber, and 39 in the Senate - a significant improvement from the picture painted by El Universal a few days ago.

This will be very interesting to watch. I think that Felipe Calderon will make every effort to work with the PRI - which will be looking for some way to establish relevancy, and is at this point somewhat fractured. I suspect he will have more success with the PRI than with the PRD, given that the PRD will soon be thinking about the midterms in 2009 and the next Presidential election in 2012.

And get ready for the demonstrations in Mexico City today on behalf of AMLO, which should be quie a spectacle, given that Mexico City is his base, and that he was succeeded as Mayor by his hand-picked successor. Everything will be set for a show that makes it look like Mexico is torn. But when you watch AMLO and his fans screaming for justice, remember the words of Macbeth.

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