Mexico City (Platts)--19Mar2008

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the firebrand politician leading opposition
to energy reform, ordered thousands of his supporters Tuesday to join a
campaign of "peaceful resistance" to the proposal.
At a rally in Mexico City's main square, the Zocalo, Lopez Obrador called
for a "citizens' blockade" of both chambers of Congress next week when he said
the proposal was likely to be presented to Congress.
Energy Secretary Georgina Kessel has said the project will be presented
by the end of this month.
Speaking on the 70th anniversary of the oil industry's nationalization,
Lopez Obrador warned that any attempt to claw it back could provoke violence,
though he emphasized that he was calling only for peaceful resistance.
Claudia Sheinbaum, Lopez Obrador's spokeswoman on energy, earlier said
that the blockades could be extended to "airports, highways, financial centers
and installations of state Pemex."
Lopez Obrador, who lost the presidency in 2006 elections by the narrowest
of margins to Felipe Calderon, has seen his political capital revived by the
campaign against energy reform. The enthusiastic crowd of supporters came
close to filling the Zocalo, an area equivalent to five American football
fields.
--Ronald Buchanan, newsdesk@platts.com