The Brawl In Mexico City

Forget civil war in Iraq, how about the one in Mexico?

Felipe Calderón took the oath of office as Mexico's president Friday amid jeers and whistles, in a lightning-fast ceremony before congress that was preceded by a brawl between lawmakers divided over the tight presidential election.

Calderón entered through a back door and appeared suddenly on the speaker's platform, which was the site of three days of fistfights and sit-ins by lawmakers seeking to control the stage. Physically protected by dozens of lawmakers and flanked by outgoing President Vicente Fox, Calderón swore to uphold the constitution in comments almost inaudible over the noise [...]

Former presidential candidate Andres Manuel López Obrador, of the Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, claims he was robbed of the presidency and has declared himself “legitimate president.” He called on thousands of supporters in Mexico's main Zocalo plaza to march peacefully to the National Auditorium, where Calderón was scheduled to address the nation.

His supporters in Congress had seized entrances to the congressional chamber Friday morning in an attempt to block Calderón from taking office. The leftist lawmakers, who draped a giant banner across the chamber reading “Mexico doesn't deserve a traitor to democracy as president,” exchanged punches with ruling-party lawmakers and erected barricades of chairs as Calderón supporters chanted “Mexico wants peace.”

This comes a couple days after Calderon filled his cabinet with close friends in an attempt to keep only those he trusts around him. This is ugly.

A Lopez Obrador Presidency may not have been much better at unifying the country, but this is a travesty. And more chaos in Mexico means more Mexicans deciding that their only hope is to leave. Vincente Fox, far from being the great hope for his country, stratified it so much between rich and poor that migration to America was the only escape for many of the downtrodden. Calderon will seek to further this legacy amidst absolute pandemonium. I honestly don't know how this is going to turn out.