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Mexico celebrates Independence Day

Mexico City's central plaza was the scene of competing Independence Day celebrations, with the president's supporters and his opponents divided by metal fences and thousands of police officers.

In keeping with custom, Mexican President Felipe Calderon marked the start of Independence Day on Saturday by stepping out on a National Palace balcony at 11pm and crying "Viva Mexico!"

Hundreds of Mexicans gathered below in the Zocalo, or main square, answered the president's shouts in unison.

Many dressed in Independence Day costumes, wearing large sombreros or fake mustaches.

THE OTHER 'GRITO'

Earlier in the day, in another corner of the plaza, thousands of Calderon's detractors led by Senator Rosario Ibarra held their own grito, or cry of independence, reflecting lingering conflicts over last year's hotly contested presidential election.

TENSIONS

Ibarra is a political ally of leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who narrowly lost the election in July last year to the conservative Calderon.

Lopez Obrador claims the election was tainted by fraud and has refused to accept Calderon's victory.

Despite the political tension, there were no reports of violence on Saturday.

Last September -- following two months of protests that blocked a main avenue in Mexico City to demand a recount -- then-president Vicente Fox averted a confrontation by moving the ceremony to Dolores Hidalgo, where Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo made the first cry for independence from Spain in 1810.

Lopez Obrador said this year he would celebrate with followers in San Jose Tenango in southern Oaxaca State, one of the poorest municipalities in Mexico.

PREPARATIONS

In Mexico City, factions staked out their turf in the Zocalo days ahead of time.

The presidential office set up metal fencing around a section in front of the National Palace, while Lopez Obrador's supporters set up tents on the square's opposite end.

On Saturday, hundreds of vendors selling confetti and snacks crowded into the square, which was decorated with red, white and green lights -- the colors of the Mexican flag.

Mexicans arriving for the nighttime celebration went through metal detectors and were received by blaring speakers on opposites sides of the plaza competing for their attention -- and making it impossible to hear.

Calderon said that no one should be left out of the Independence Day celebration, calling it an opportunity "for harmony and reconciliation."

Veronica Franco, who attended Ibarra's event, said she came to protest Calderon's presidency.

"We're here to show that the Mexican people are not fools and that we won't allow for another fraud to take place," Franco said.
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