Ex-Mexico candidate critcizes government

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has refused to accept his slim loss to President Felipe Calderon in July's election, launched a weekly TV show Tuesday mocking the government's battle against crime and unemployment and promising to promote a law targeting Mexico's monopolies.

"Mexico is the country of monopolies," the former candidate and Mexico City mayor told viewers of "Let the Truth be Told" on Mexico's Azteca TV network, which aired at 1 a.m. local time.

Lopez Obrador said members of his left-leaning Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, already submitted a bill in Congress aimed at lowering the price of products and services through increased competition.

"If the bill is approved Mexican consumers will save more than 10 percent," he said, adding that he was not surprised by the recent increase in the price of milk and corn tortillas, both of which are staples of the Mexican diet.

Lopez Obrador lost the July 2 election by less than 1 percentage point. He cried fraud and led prolonged street protests to demand a full vote recount that paralyzed the city for weeks.

The court ordered a partial recount that it said confirmed Calderon, from Mexico's conservative National Action Party as the winner, prompting Lopez Obrador to proclaim himself Mexico's "legitimate" president and appoint a parallel cabinet. He has since launched a nationwide tour to continue his criticism of Calderon's administration.

Tuesday's show included a fake news broadcast in which it was announced that the current government had completely resolved unemployment and drug trafficking, followed by interviews with people still suffering from both.

Lopez Obrador, appearing in a dark suitcoat, white shirt and pink tie, with the Mexican flag behind him, defended his decision to pay for the weekly airtime, saying it was the only way he could get his message across "without censorship." He also said he wished the show "were at a better hour, but that wasn't possible."