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A Celebration of Resistance: Lopez Obrador to Encamp in Zocalo
By Elda García Galdamez August 1, 2006
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A third multitudinous march in
support of Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador becomes a permanent,
large sit-in in the Zocalo Plaza.
View Photo Gallery
Photo: William Gonzalez | Barriozona
support of Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador becomes a permanent,
large sit-in in the Zocalo Plaza.
View Photo Gallery
Photo: William Gonzalez | Barriozona
Eduardo Barraza is a journalist and writer,
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
Mexico City.- Mexico City.- A pallid sky over Paseo de la Reforma
Avenue predicted that it would not rain during the course of the so
called "third assembly" to be held by the “For the good of all”
coalition supporters.
There, on this avenue, a group of followers was walking in front of
the Museum of Anthropology, at the time when one of the leaders,
with a bullhorn in his hand, made an energetic and unexpected
request to those who were congregated there and had come from
each of the 16 city districts Mexico City: "Fellows, it is useless to
continue the march." The demonstrators who had just arrived
became startled and confused.
Less than one hour before the beginning of one of the most
important mobilizations in the history of Mexico, the voice asserted
without lying: "The city’s Zócalo is packed already." One of the
various giant screens located at several points along the
demonstration’s route, corroborated his statement with live images.
By 11:25 AM on July 30, the Plaza of the Constitution –also known as
the Zócalo- had been transformed into a yellow sea of cheerful and
festive waving.
From then on, the order of not to march anymore became a gesture
of solidarity. So in the same way as a river ends at the sea, the
thousands of demonstrators who came from several of Mexico’s
states were to enter the main city’s Plaza before organizations from
any of the Mexico City’s districts.
"Do you think that we’ll manage to duplicate the amount of
demonstrators," a youth, with a glad expression, asked her mother.
An immediate and confident answer made her smile: "I believe so!"
Suddenly, mother and daughter disappeared in the midst of yellow
shirts, balloons and flags.
Then, Reforma Avenue became a river with its own life. Thousands of
people represented the same will and color. With untiring spirit they
yelled: "vote by vote, poll by poll."
Others enjoyed showing their signs written with black marker. On
them, phrases such as "democracy advances and nobody can stop
it" or "people voted and the IFE robbed them" could be read.
Hundreds of phrases like these appeared one after the other.
Suddenly, a man stopped and offered another supporter to draw
something on an image of the President of Mexico. He drew horns
and a moustache on the photo of Vicente Fox. Once he finished his
“artwork,” both raised their signs. The slogan was the same: "Fox,
traitor of democracy."
Ahead of the avenue, students of the National Autonomous
University of Mexico (the country’s top educational institution)
danced and played drums. Entire families enjoyed the creativity and
radiating happiness. Smiling, hot and sweaty children grabbing their
parents hands watched some doll dummies representing Luis Carlos
Ugalde, president of the Federal Electoral Institute or IFE, the man
who has been labeled as a "criminal" in the electoral process.
All over the place, baby’s strollers advanced, so did the cane of
grandparents, and wheelchairs and crutches of some supporters of
the Revolutionary Democratic Party or PRD, known as perredistas.
Under the rays of the sun, demonstrators did not cease to chant in
support of "Obrador, Obrador, Obrador!"
Whereas, musical groups located at different points were bringing
people’s spirit up. Music unleashed hundreds of happy faces and
gesticulating hands, next to many people’s backs showing a legend
easy to read: "I did not get paid $50.00 pesos (about $5.00 U.S.
dollars) to come; my own convictions brought me."
Between people’s legs some glances could be seen. They were
those of some dogs’ with yellow bandannas tied around their neck;
they also seemed to enjoy this "celebration of resistance," as
renowned writer Elena Poniatowska coined the march, minutes
before Lopez Obrador’s speech.
Two and a half hours of carnival had passed and the entrance to the
Zócalo could be seen, but Juárez and Madero Avenues were too
narrow for the thousands of supporters.
There was not another option. Some were taking parallel streets to
these avenues, when all of a sudden a distant mumble assured that
Andrés Manuel López Obrador was approaching the Zócalo. Emotion
crowded around the people, making them walk faster towards the
main city’s square.
"There he comes, I saw him already, I saw him already!" a girl on her
father’s shoulders shouted happily. Everybody got on their tip toe’s,
took the camcorder or the photo camera out, but only few got to see
Obrador’s arrival. At a distance, people could be heard shouting:
"Long live Mexico, long live Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador!"
It was warm; the crowd was very close together, but the
presidential candidate to whom they call "legitimate president" was
about to give his speech, so the Zócalo plaza became silent.
Supporters, who traveled 36 hours on bus from Tijuana to Mexico
City, anxiously waited to listen to a 30-minute speech.
"We are here to seal our commitment with history... In these days, it
is being decided if we are really going to establish a true democracy
in Mexico, or if a regime of simulated democracy will prevail," declared
Lopez Obrador in his speech.
Shouts of support interrupted him: "you are not alone, you are not
alone!" Subsequently, under a sun at its fullest splendor and yellow
balloons flying, the leftist candidate said: "I propose to you that we
stay here, day and night, until the votes are counted and we have a
president elected with the minimum legality that we Mexicans
deserve... I inform you that I also will live in this site –the Zocalo– as
long as we remain in a permanent assembly... I ask you: do we stay
here?, yes or no? Immediately an uproarious and magnified “Yes!”
was heard.
The proposal caused confusion. While watching the crowd, a
demonstrator said to his friend: "But we won’t be able to stay like
this." His friend responded to him: "No, we are not all going to stay,
only those who will be at the camps." Soon, the crowd of supporters
repeated time after time: "president, president, president!"
Andrés Manuel López Obrador finished his speech. People sang the
Mexican national anthem: "Think, oh dear mother country that
heaven has given you a soldier in each of your children, has given
you a soldier in each of your children" people sang with energetic
voice.
The nationalistic hullabaloo was experienced in every flag waving, in
the balloons held in children’s hands, in the hope of senior citizens,
and in the yearning of all the young people.
Soon the clock marked 3:00 o’clock, while the sit-in continued being
organized. The hot and sweaty and tired followers who were not
going to be a part of the sit-in began evacuating the heart of the
city, and to commence their return home, under a clean sky and a
more tolerant sun.
English translation by Eduardo Barraza
Avenue predicted that it would not rain during the course of the so
called "third assembly" to be held by the “For the good of all”
coalition supporters.
There, on this avenue, a group of followers was walking in front of
the Museum of Anthropology, at the time when one of the leaders,
with a bullhorn in his hand, made an energetic and unexpected
request to those who were congregated there and had come from
each of the 16 city districts Mexico City: "Fellows, it is useless to
continue the march." The demonstrators who had just arrived
became startled and confused.
Less than one hour before the beginning of one of the most
important mobilizations in the history of Mexico, the voice asserted
without lying: "The city’s Zócalo is packed already." One of the
various giant screens located at several points along the
demonstration’s route, corroborated his statement with live images.
By 11:25 AM on July 30, the Plaza of the Constitution –also known as
the Zócalo- had been transformed into a yellow sea of cheerful and
festive waving.
From then on, the order of not to march anymore became a gesture
of solidarity. So in the same way as a river ends at the sea, the
thousands of demonstrators who came from several of Mexico’s
states were to enter the main city’s Plaza before organizations from
any of the Mexico City’s districts.
"Do you think that we’ll manage to duplicate the amount of
demonstrators," a youth, with a glad expression, asked her mother.
An immediate and confident answer made her smile: "I believe so!"
Suddenly, mother and daughter disappeared in the midst of yellow
shirts, balloons and flags.
Then, Reforma Avenue became a river with its own life. Thousands of
people represented the same will and color. With untiring spirit they
yelled: "vote by vote, poll by poll."
Others enjoyed showing their signs written with black marker. On
them, phrases such as "democracy advances and nobody can stop
it" or "people voted and the IFE robbed them" could be read.
Hundreds of phrases like these appeared one after the other.
Suddenly, a man stopped and offered another supporter to draw
something on an image of the President of Mexico. He drew horns
and a moustache on the photo of Vicente Fox. Once he finished his
“artwork,” both raised their signs. The slogan was the same: "Fox,
traitor of democracy."
Ahead of the avenue, students of the National Autonomous
University of Mexico (the country’s top educational institution)
danced and played drums. Entire families enjoyed the creativity and
radiating happiness. Smiling, hot and sweaty children grabbing their
parents hands watched some doll dummies representing Luis Carlos
Ugalde, president of the Federal Electoral Institute or IFE, the man
who has been labeled as a "criminal" in the electoral process.
All over the place, baby’s strollers advanced, so did the cane of
grandparents, and wheelchairs and crutches of some supporters of
the Revolutionary Democratic Party or PRD, known as perredistas.
Under the rays of the sun, demonstrators did not cease to chant in
support of "Obrador, Obrador, Obrador!"
Whereas, musical groups located at different points were bringing
people’s spirit up. Music unleashed hundreds of happy faces and
gesticulating hands, next to many people’s backs showing a legend
easy to read: "I did not get paid $50.00 pesos (about $5.00 U.S.
dollars) to come; my own convictions brought me."
Between people’s legs some glances could be seen. They were
those of some dogs’ with yellow bandannas tied around their neck;
they also seemed to enjoy this "celebration of resistance," as
renowned writer Elena Poniatowska coined the march, minutes
before Lopez Obrador’s speech.
Two and a half hours of carnival had passed and the entrance to the
Zócalo could be seen, but Juárez and Madero Avenues were too
narrow for the thousands of supporters.
There was not another option. Some were taking parallel streets to
these avenues, when all of a sudden a distant mumble assured that
Andrés Manuel López Obrador was approaching the Zócalo. Emotion
crowded around the people, making them walk faster towards the
main city’s square.
"There he comes, I saw him already, I saw him already!" a girl on her
father’s shoulders shouted happily. Everybody got on their tip toe’s,
took the camcorder or the photo camera out, but only few got to see
Obrador’s arrival. At a distance, people could be heard shouting:
"Long live Mexico, long live Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador!"
It was warm; the crowd was very close together, but the
presidential candidate to whom they call "legitimate president" was
about to give his speech, so the Zócalo plaza became silent.
Supporters, who traveled 36 hours on bus from Tijuana to Mexico
City, anxiously waited to listen to a 30-minute speech.
"We are here to seal our commitment with history... In these days, it
is being decided if we are really going to establish a true democracy
in Mexico, or if a regime of simulated democracy will prevail," declared
Lopez Obrador in his speech.
Shouts of support interrupted him: "you are not alone, you are not
alone!" Subsequently, under a sun at its fullest splendor and yellow
balloons flying, the leftist candidate said: "I propose to you that we
stay here, day and night, until the votes are counted and we have a
president elected with the minimum legality that we Mexicans
deserve... I inform you that I also will live in this site –the Zocalo– as
long as we remain in a permanent assembly... I ask you: do we stay
here?, yes or no? Immediately an uproarious and magnified “Yes!”
was heard.
The proposal caused confusion. While watching the crowd, a
demonstrator said to his friend: "But we won’t be able to stay like
this." His friend responded to him: "No, we are not all going to stay,
only those who will be at the camps." Soon, the crowd of supporters
repeated time after time: "president, president, president!"
Andrés Manuel López Obrador finished his speech. People sang the
Mexican national anthem: "Think, oh dear mother country that
heaven has given you a soldier in each of your children, has given
you a soldier in each of your children" people sang with energetic
voice.
The nationalistic hullabaloo was experienced in every flag waving, in
the balloons held in children’s hands, in the hope of senior citizens,
and in the yearning of all the young people.
Soon the clock marked 3:00 o’clock, while the sit-in continued being
organized. The hot and sweaty and tired followers who were not
going to be a part of the sit-in began evacuating the heart of the
city, and to commence their return home, under a clean sky and a
more tolerant sun.
English translation by Eduardo Barraza