Thousands Protest Mexican President Fox

[kskiska]

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Union members, left-wing activists and farmers by the thousand marched to the capital's central plaza Thursday in a major display of opposition to the president's plans to raise taxes on food and medicine and sell state-owned assets.

The crowd estimated by police at 80,000 packed major avenues from Mexico's independence monument to the city center. The march had been billed as Mexico's largest in years, but the turnout fell short of the 150,000 predicted by organizers.

The march was largely peaceful, with demonstrators chanting ``Our country is not for sale!'' Still, authorities dispatched thousands of police to guard against possible violence, arresting at least four people in the afternoon along Reforma Avenue, the capital's main drag.

(snip)

Speaking Thursday about the marches from Michoacan state, Fox said ``we should all enjoy Mexico's unprecedented new climate of liberty ... freedom of expression and the right to protest are never going to be blocked by my administration.''

Fox recently commented that the country ``is doing wonderfully'' - a statement that sharply contrasted with the current economy, and led one local newspaper to run an ironic headline, ``Another Day Here In Wonderland.''

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[Lisa0825]

1. While I know the country is still pretty screwed up...

I do agree with Fox that it is at the very least an improvement to have freedom of expression. I was amazed when I went there a couple years ago and saw vendors selling Marcos and Zapatista t-shirts in the zocalo. And I was in mexico City for New Year's week last year. There was speculation about a big protest and government quashing due to the anniversary of the Chiapas rebellion, but it was peaceful. I also heard that Fox allowed Zapatistas to speak in the congress and sit in the gallery, which is a FAR cry from what past admins have done there. My ex-boyfriend's sister was of a leftist party there, and though she was no fan of Fox, she did appreciate the movement toward freedom of expression. Her party gained a lot of seats in the midterms. I hope the trend continues.