Recount Demanded

Mexico City

Defeated leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador led a huge throng of demonstrators through Mexico’s capital last week, demanding a recount of all 41 million votes cast in this month’s presidential election. Obrador’s opponent, conservative Felipe Calderón, prevailed by 244,000 votes in the initial count. But Obrador has charged Calderón’s ruling party with campaign irregularities that cost Obrador more than 1 million votes. “We cannot accept that a privileged group uses illegal means, money, and tricks to impose an illegitimate vote,” Obrador told a boisterous crowd estimated at 700,000. Mexico’s election tribunal is scheduled to rule on Obrador’s petition by the end of July.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up