Losing candidate ‘sworn in’

Mexico City

Weeks after Andrés Manuel López Obrador was officially declared the loser of Mexico’s presidential election, he staged his own swearing in ceremony this week, calling himself the “legitimate president of Mexico.” In front of a crowd estimated at 100,000 in Mexico City’s Constitution Plaza, the leftist López Obrador, 53, promised to pressure newly elected president Felipe Calderón to adopt López Obrador’s initiatives, which include breaking up large business trusts and raising the minimum wage. “We’re going to keep them on a short leash,” he said. López Obrador’s supporters don’t necessarily expect immediate changes. “It’s something that goes beyond material things,” said psychologist Beatriz Ramírez. “It’s something more spiritual.”