The leftist loser of the Mexican presidential election and his supporters are getting more aggressive. Today, they blocked the Ministry of Agriculture and kept employees from getting in. Then they opened tollgates and let thousands of commuters drive through without paying tolls. They are destroying Mexico's economy in order to fulfill Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's blind lust for the presidency.
Demonstrators waving the yellow flags of Lopez Obrador's Party of the Democratic Revolution blocked the entrance to the agriculture ministry and stopped hundreds of employees from getting to work.
Other protesters swung open toll barriers across highways linking Mexico City with the cities of Cuernavaca, Pachuca and Queretaro and let tens of thousands of commuters drive through without paying during the morning rush hours.
"Don't pay. Keep going, keep going," leftists shouted as they waved smiling drivers past a toll point on the southern edge of Mexico City.
The leftist, who promises to lift millions out of poverty and end privileges for the rich, commands fierce loyalty from his supporters.
"Lopez Obrador represents hope that the country's resources reach every sector and not just a small group like now," said Ildelisa Gonzalez, 47, a teacher from the northern state of Sonora who was protesting outside the agriculture ministry.
Demonstrators there shouted slogans against a North American free trade deal which has hurt many Mexican farmers.
"ONE WAY OR ANOTHER"
Lopez Obrador, a former mayor of the capital, said on Monday that Mexico would cede more power to the poor "one way or another" but he has vowed protests will be peaceful.
They appear to be on the road to less peaceful protest. Who is paying for all this? Where is AMLO getting the funds to pay for these protests? Someone is feeding these people – they sure aren't working for a living.
Mark in Mexico has a lot of background on what is going on down there. It is lawlessness at this point with leftist elements completely out of control.
“Who is paying for all this? Where is AMLO getting the funds to pay for these protests?”
These are extremely good questions that I haven’t read anywhere else. It is very unfortunate that Mexico, a country whose civil society suffered for years under the corruption of the PRI, finds its hard-won democracy under threat from a third party like the PRD. Obrador’s behavior is simply egregious in its selfishness.