Why Mexico Keeps Burning

With a new President finally set to take office, a seething opposition is putting democracy to the test

Even during placid times, Mexico's annual Informe, or State of the Union address, makes for high political theater. And so when outgoing President Vicente Fox arrived at the San Lázaro Congress building in Mexico City to give his final Informe last Friday night, Mexicans were ready for some drama. And they got it. Congressmen loyal to leftist presidential contender Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has spent the past two months protesting the results of the July 2 election, jumped from their seats and surrounded the broad podium, shouting "Fuera!" (Out!). So obdurate were the legislators that they blocked Fox, decked out in...

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