Protesters, Police Clash Before Pena Nieto Presidential Inauguration Agence France-Presse
go to original December 1, 2012

A demonstrator lights up a spray can outside the steel security barriers surrounding the National Congress, where the swearing in of new Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto will take place on Sunday. (AP)

Hundreds of protesters have clashed with police outside Mexico's congress ahead of Enrique Pena Nieto's presidential inauguration, throwing firebombs while officers responded with tear gas.

At least five police officers were injured as around 500 protesters, many wearing masks, threw objects and Molotov cocktails outside the congress, which was surrounded by metal barricades.

One officer was hit in the face by a stone while two others were struck by a Molotov cocktail. They were taken away in ambulances. Two more officers were carried out by their colleagues, apparently affected by the tear gas.



Policemen struggle with demonstrators outside the Congress in Mexico City. One officer was hit in the face by a stone while two others were struck by a Molotov cocktail. (AP)

"We weren't expecting something so violent," an officer told AFP.

Pena Nieto's presidency will mark the return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled Mexico with an authoritarian hand for 71 years until it lost the 2000 presidential election.

The second-place finisher in this year's election, leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has refused to concede defeat, charging that the PRI bought millions of votes. The electoral court threw out his claims.



A demonstrator gets ready to throw a Molotov cocktail. Pena Nieto's presidency will mark the return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party which ruled Mexico with an authoritarian hand for 71 years until 2000. (AP)

The group that clashed with police was among thousands of protesters who took to the streets to protest Pena Nieto's inauguration, chanting "Mexico without PRI!"

Inside the congress, some lawmakers held up protest signs against Pena Nieto, a telegenic 46-year-old lawyer and former Mexico state governor, before the swearing in ceremony.

One sign read: "Pena Nieto president of the teleprompter."



Policemen gather as they clash with demonstrators outside the Congress. "We weren't expecting something so violent," an officer told AFP. (AP)

Pena Nieto insists that the PRI has embraced democracy and will not return to its dark past.

The new president inherits a brutal drug war that has left more than 60,000 people dead in the last six years.

Violence betweeen the country's powerful drug cartels surged after outgoing president Felipe Calderon launched a military offensive against the gangs when he took office in 2006.

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!