Brawl, standoff in Mexican Congress days before inauguration

By Mark Stevenson
Associated Press
Nov. 29, 2006 07:37 AM
AP Photo

MEXICO CITY - Lawmakers wrestled, slapped each other and tumbled across the floor of Mexico's Congress after opposition legislators threatened to block the inauguration of the incoming president, whom they accuse of stealing the election.

By late Tuesday, the brawl had turned into a tense standoff between congressmen of President-elect Felipe Calderon's conservative party - who want him to take the oath of office in Congress - and opposition leftists who have vowed to block the swearing-in ceremony.

The battle showed how hard it could be for Calderon to unite a nation divided since he narrowly defeated opposition candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the disputed July 2 election.

Congress has seen plenty of degrading behavior, but Tuesday's brawl came as Mexico faces central questions on the effectiveness of its government, with escalating turf wars between drug gangs and bloody street battles in the southern city of Oaxaca, which was seized for five months by leftist protesters.

Mexican Lawmakers Get Physical on Congress Floor