MEXICO CITY (AP) -- President Vicente Fox refused to deliver his state-of-the nation report to Congress Friday, after leftist lawmakers seized control of the stage. It was the first time a Mexican leader hasn't given the annual address.
Fox's office said he would give a televised speech to the nation later Friday, exactly three months before he steps down. The written copy of his address called on Mexico to mend deep divisions that he said threatened the country's newfound democracy.
"Whoever attacks our laws and institutions also attacks our history and Mexico," Fox said, a veiled reference to leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. "No one can say that he supports the people when he attacks it."
The fast-paced developments followed weeks of tensions over the disputed July 2 presidential race.
The opposition lawmakers waved Mexican flags and held placards calling Fox a traitor to democracy. They ignored demands that they return to their seats, shouting "Vote by Vote" - a rallying cry for Lopez Obrador's bid for a full recount in the July 2 election.
They raised up leather-covered copies of the Mexican constitution and flashed the sign for victory as they stood at the front of the congress while the 102 senators and 462 representatives sang the national hymn to close the session.
The standoff came six days before the top electoral court must declare a president-elect or annul the July 2 vote and order a new election. So far, rulings have favored ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon.
Lopez Obrador has already said he won't recognize the electoral court's decision, and he plans to create a parallel government and rule from the streets.
Fearing violent protests, authorities earlier surrounded Congress for up to 10 blocks with multiple layers of steel barriers; attack dogs in cages, ready to be released; water cannons; and riot police in full protective gear. Entire neighborhoods were sealed off, preventing some of the city's sprawling markets from opening, and nearby subway stations were shut down.
Police used mirrors and dogs to inspect cars for explosives before allowing them to pass, and opposition lawmakers said police even tried to prevent them from arriving despite their credentials. Some said they were pushed and shoved by authorities.
"It's completely militarized around here. It is completely illegal, unconstitutional," Democratic Revolution congressman Cuauhtemoc Sandoval told The Associated Press. "Vicente Fox started out as a president, and is finishing up as a dictator."
Many had feared the deepening political turmoil over the election to replace Fox could explode into violence, but leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called on his supporters to remain peacefully gathered in Mexico City's Zocalo plaza, instead of marching on Congress as they had previously planned.
"We aren't going to fall into any trap," he told tens of thousands who waited in a driving rain to hear him speak.
Lawmakers from each party opened the session with speeches, many of which criticized Fox and listed his lack of accomplishments.
"Vicente Fox is a traitor to democracy, and even worse, he's leaving the country having turned it into a powder keg," said Edgardo Cantu of the Labor Party, part of Lopez Obrador's coalition.
The tense situation was a far cry from the optimism and enthusiasm that followed Fox's victory six years ago. That election ended 71 years of one-party rule and prompted the world to declare Mexico a true democracy.
Protesters occupying Mexico City's center said they were ready to do whatever it takes to support Lopez Obrador. Fernando Calles, a 26-year-old university professor, said he was ready to fight for the former Mexico City mayor "until the death, until the final consequences."
"We lived 500 years of repression, and now we represent the new face of Mexico," he said.
The tight election left the nation deeply divided, with Lopez Obrador - who portrayed himself as a champion of the poor - alleging that fraud accounted for an official count showing him 0.6 percent behind Calderon.
Fox, a former Coca-Cola executive, ushered in economic stability and brought inflation to record lows, but he has been unable to secure a migration accord with the U.S. or significantly reduce poverty.
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