López Obrador pronounces himself "the president of Mexico"

MEXICO CITY — Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who finished a close second in the disputed Mexican presidential balloting July 2, ratcheted up the election standoff Wednesday by declaring himself "the president of Mexico."

Cesar Nava, a spokesman for ruling party candidate Felipe Calderón, who won the election by barely a half-percent of the 41 million votes cast, dismissed the claim as "messianic."

The election results are before a federal electoral tribunal, where López Obrador, a left-leaning populist, has brought charges of widespread fraud and demanded a "vote-for-vote" recount.

His claim to victory was made in an interview on the U.S. Spanish-language channel Univision.

"I am the president of Mexico," he said. "I am the president of Mexico by the will of the majority."

In a continuing war of words, both candidates declared themselves the winners immediately after the election. Calderón's Web site also pronounces him "the president of Mexico."

Meanwhile, Calderón and López Obrador inched toward a possible meeting to discuss the tribunal case.

Calderón, of the ruling National Action Party, or PAN, suggested such a meeting Tuesday. López Obrador, of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, said he would talk face to face with his rival, but only with conditions.

"Not until a recount," López Obrador said during a radio interview.

Aides to Calderón said he will accept a recount only if the electoral tribunal deems it necessary.

Analysts said that even if the meeting doesn't take place, that the men are talking about talking could be a thaw in their campaigns' tit-for-tat exchanges.

But López Obrador's new claim to the presidency raised tensions in a fledgling democracy reeling from the uncertainty of the election dispute, which has included two big pro-López Obrador protests in the Zócalo, Mexico City's historic central square. Another is scheduled Sunday.

Nava's "messianic" tag echoed the criticism of López Obrador's conservative opponents, who portray him as a threat to Mexico's nascent democratic institutions.

"A true democrat respects the majority of the Mexicans, the electoral authorities and a peaceful solution to conflict," Nava said.

López Obrador, waving off suggestions that his continuing electoral challenge is destabilizing the nation, vowed the protest movement he's launched "will stay within the limits of nonviolence."

He has said he would respect the decision of the electoral tribunal, which is expected to render a decision and name a president-elect by Sept. 6.

Material from The Dallas Morning News is included in this report.