Mexico's leftist leader has urged the electoral court to order a full recount of the disputed presidential vote and predicted his campaign to lift millions from poverty would succeed "one way or another."
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told several thousand supporters gathered in the rain outside the electoral court offices in Mexico City that he would not give up on his demand for a recount of all 41 million votes cast in the July 2nd election.
He lost by less than 0.6 per cent to conservative ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon.
"Our institutions cannot remain subject to the power of money, to those who think they own Mexico.
"We are living an historic moment because it is up to us to change that. If we permit it we will be accepting a simulated democracy, a democracy of lies," Mr Obrador told the crowd.
The election, he says, was rigged, and his supporters have paralysed the centre of the capital for more than a week with sit-in protests to demand a full recount.
He suffered a setback on Saturday when the top electoral court ordered a recount at only 9 per cent of polling stations beginning tomorrow. Mr Lopez Obrador said the decision was short-sighted and the court should reconsider it.
"It is a narrow vision that does not take into account the historic social demands of our people," he said. "The judges must not let pass the historic opportunity to vindicate our institutions."
Lopez Obrador warned his supporters over the weekend that his quest to overturn the election result could be a long struggle.
"We are seeking the transformation of our country, and it is going to happen one way or another," he said. "We are going to change the reality of injustice and oppression that has done so much damage. We are going to purify public life."
