The candidate contesting Mexico's July 2nd election on the grounds of vote-rigging declared himself president and said his supporters would step up a campaign of civil disobedience next week.
Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost the vote count to conservative rival Felipe Calderon by a tiny margin, said in a television interview that a rally on Sunday in Mexico City would show his backers have the energy to keep up protests.
"I am already president. I won the presidential election. I am president of Mexico by the will of the majority of Mexicans," Lopez Obrador said.
"I think the people will not tire," he added. "We are going to beat [our opponents] because the people are on our side."
Mr Obrador, whose fraud allegations are being examined by Mexico's electoral court, has castigated Mr Calderon in interviews in recent days. His rival has opted to keep a lower profile and set about preparing his presidency.
Despite strong rhetoric about a "dirty war" against him, Mr Lopez Obrador has kept protest rallies by his backers peaceful.
He plans to announce a civil resistance campaign at a rally in central Mexico City on Sunday as the next step in pushing for a vote-by-vote recount. "We are not going to sit here with our arms folded," he said.