Mexico leftists try to shut down capital

8216;8216;They wanted to steal the elections from us but we are not giving in,8217;8217; said Magdalena Salazar, a middle-aged woman who danced with her daughter in the Zocalo as a salsa band called Minimum Wage played. 8216;8216;If they don8217;t pay attention to us, we8217;ll shut the city down,8217;8217; she said.

Fully in control of of the capital8217;s historic center, other small groups danced, sang and played soccer on major roads.

In a surprise move that raised the stakes in Mexico8217;s political crisis following the July 2 election, Lopez Obrador called on his followers to seize downtown Mexico City at the end of a massive protest rally on Sunday afternoon.

He led hundreds of thousands of supporters through the city to the Zocalo, the heart of both the Aztec empire and modern Mexico, where he said he had no doubt he won the election. 8216;8216;They couldn8217;t beat us with votes and that8217;s why they refuse to open the ballot boxes and do a recount,8217;8217; he said.

Felipe Calderon, a conservative lawyer of the ruling National Action Party, beat Lopez Obrador by just 244,000 votes, or less than 0.6 percentage points.

His leftist rival, who promised to put government at the service of the poor, claims the returns were tampered with at more than half the nation8217;s polling stations.

The result now lies with Mexico8217;s electoral court. Lopez Obrador says he will only accept the result if a full recount is ordered while Calderon insists his victory be recognised. 8216;8216;I had powerful, very charismatic adversaries. But I won cleanly,8217;8217; Calderon told the court8217;s judges on Sunday.

The seven judges have to decide by August 31 whether or not to reopen some or all of the ballot boxes. That means Lopez Obrador8217;s occupation of the capital could last for weeks.

Kieran Murray 038; Tomas Sarmiento