50K Mexicans Protest Peña Nieto's Win

Upwards of 50,000 students, leftists, and unionists took to the streets in Mexico City yesterday, protesting last week's presidential election win by Enrique Peña Nieto and the resurgent Institutional Revolutionary Party, reports the AFP. Protesters, mostly young people, accused the PRI of buying the election through favorable TV coverage and gift cards slipped to poor people. "Get out Peña, Mexico without the PRI!" chanted protesters as they marched through the center of the city.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who placed second both last week and six years ago, said he was not behind the protests, though he led paralyzing protests in the wake of 2006's election. Protesters carried signs that read "Peña, how much did it cost to become president?" and "Mexico, you pawned your future for 500 pesos." Giving away gifts is not illegal under Mexican election law, as long as the expense is reported and the gifts are not given to influence votes, notes the AP. "This isn't going to stay like this," says a protester. "There will be more marches." (More Enrique Pena Nieto stories.)