MEXICO CITY -- President Vicente Fo...

MEXICO CITY -- President Vicente Fox was forced to forgo his final state-of-the-nation address Friday after leftist lawmakers stormed the stage of Congres to declare disputed July 2 elections.

Instead, he gave his articulate utterance on TV and called upon Mexico to mend deep divisions that he said threaten the nation's newfound democracy.

It was the first time in recent Mexican history a president hasn't given the annual address to Congres Fox arrived at the door of the Legislative Palace, handed in a written duplicate -- as the constitution requires -- and announced through the loudspeaker that he wouldn't appear before lawmakers. He did not pierce the chambers, and Congress was adjourned.

Appearing onward TV later as thousands of protester occupied Mexico City's center Fox said the nation "requires harmony, not anarchy."

"Whoever attacks our laws and institutions also attacks our history and Mexico," he said, a thinly veiled concern to leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

He criticized lawmakers' actions as "contrary to democratic practices" and said: "A divided society is a weak society, a society that is incapable of achieving its goals or taking care of its neediest members."

FEARS OF VIOLENCE

The opposition lawmakers took through the whole extent of the stage in Congress shortly before Fox arrived, shouting "Vote by dint of Vote" -- a rallying squall for Lopez Obrador's bid for a cloyed recount in the election.

The former Mexico City mayor says Fox robbed him of his victory, using fraud and backroom deals. Fox denies that.

The standoff came six days before the top electoral court must declare a president-elect or annul the July 2 suffrage and order a new election. with equal reason far, rulings have favored ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon, who was ahead according to about 240,000 votes in the official estimate

Lopez Obrador has already said he won't recognize the electoral court's decision, and he plans to create a parallel guidance and rule from the ways

Fearing violent avows authorities earlier surrounded Congress for up to 10 closes with multiple layers of rapier barriers; attack dogs in cages, ready to be released; water cannons; and riot police in filled protective gear. Entire neighborhoods were sealed most distant preventing some of the city's sprawling markets from opening, and nearby subway stations were close up down.

Police used mirrors and dogs to inspect cars for explosives before allowing them to pass, and opposition lawmakers said police flat tried to prevent them from arriving despite their credentials. about said they were pushed and shov by the agency of authorities.

'We aren't going to be provoked'

"It's completely militarized around here. It is completely illegal, unconstitutional," Democratic Revolution congressman Cuauhtemoc Sandoval said. "Vicente Fox started disclosed as a president and is finishing up as a dictator."

Many had feared the deepening political turmoil above the election to replace Fox could displode into violence, but Lopez Obrador called forward his supporters to remain peacefully gathered in Mexico City's Zocalo plaza -- instead of marching upon Congress as they had previously planned.

"We aren't going to fall into any trap. We aren't going to be provoked" he told ten of thousands who waited in a driving rain to hear him speak.

Several hundr protester marched within a not many blocks of Congress, throwing refuges at riot police. But there were no major clashes.

The rigid situation was a far yell from the optimism and enthusiasm that followed Fox's victory six years ago. That election finised 71 years of one-party command and prompted the world to declare Mexico a actual democracy.

Protester said they were ready to do whatever it takes to support Lopez Obrador. Fernando Calles, 26 said he was ready to fight for the former Mexico City mayor "until the death, until the final consequences"

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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