In 2006, Andrés Manuel López Obrador lost his first presidential race by a hair. He refused to concede, and in a surreal ceremony donned a presidential sash and declared himself Mexico’s legitimate president. Earlier, in a fiery speech in the capital’s historic square, he cursed Mexico’s governing institutions.
“Although my opponents may not like it, to hell with their institutions,” shouted the silver-haired politician as the crowd cheered wildly.
Here is a related story from Reuter:
Mexico tycoon warns of ‘populist’ risk in dig at election front-runner
One of Mexico’s richest men has warned his staff of the risk of a “populist” winning the July 1 presidential election, the latest swipe by big business against leftist front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
A letter by billionaire German Larrea, published in Mexican media on Tuesday, refers indirectly to Lopez Obrador, who has accused Larrea of belonging to a group of tycoons seeking to thwart democracy and keep him from power.
Lopez Obrador has a history of clashing with business leaders and his opponents repeatedly painted him as a threat to Mexico’s economic stability during his previous two tilts at the presidency. He finished runner-up both times.