Mayor to be arrested

last updated 8 January 2015

Mexico City

Lawmakers have cleared the way for Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the favorite in next year’s presidential election, to be arrested over a minor land dispute. Lopez Obrador disobeyed a court order to halt construction of a road crossing a disputed piece of property. A conviction would disqualify him from the election. Lopez Obrador called the move a “sleazy trick” to stop him from becoming Mexico’s first leftist president. More than 100,000 supporters staged a demonstration in Mexico City’s main square, chanting “You are not alone!” President Vicente Fox said the government was merely enforcing the law. “It’s an example for the world that justice prevails in Mexico,” Fox said.