A Celebration of Resistance: Lopez Obrador to Encamp in
Zocalo
Zocalo
By Elda García Galdamez
BARRIOZONA
August 1, 2006
BARRIOZONA
August 1, 2006
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.
Copyright © 2006 Elda García Galdamez
Copyright © 2006-2008 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
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.
Copyright © 2006 Elda García Galdamez
Copyright © 2006-2008 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
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A third multitudinous march leads López Obrador and followers to camp out in Mexico City.