Mexican protest puts Congress on the move

A continuing blockade by leftist Mexican lawmakers today forced their colleagues to move to other quarters to get business done. Senators shifted to a nearby government building, while legislators in the lower house met in a substitute auditorium in the Chamber of Deputies complex.

Legislators opposing an energy-reform proposal have holed up since Thursday in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, where they stacked heavy chairs to form a barricade around the speaker’s platform. The actions have delayed the start of debate on conservative President Felipe Calderón’s proposal to revamp the state-owned Pemex oil monopoly.

Calderón argues Pemex reform is needed to keep reserves from falling further, but critics charge it’s a veiled attempt to privatize Mexican oil. The leftists, led by former Mexico City Mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, demand a debate that would last through summer. Calderón’s conservative party wants a shorter debate, and the sides are stuck for now.

Meantime, congressional leaders tried to figure out how to tend to their routine duties. On the agenda was a pro forma vote whether to authorize Calderón to travel to New Orleans next week to meet with President Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the North American Leaders’ Summit.

--Ken Ellingwood in Mexico City