Mexico's Pena Nieto sworn in as president amid protests

Enrique Pena Nieto was sworn in as president of Mexico on Saturday following protests by leftist lawmakers inside the congress and clashes between demonstrators and police outside. 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 its first election in 2000. But the telegenic 46-year-old lawyer has promised that the PRI has embraced democracy and left its dark days in the past. He has vowed to fight poverty and slash the levels of drug violence plaguing the country. "I swear to defend the constitution of the United Mexican States and its laws, and faithfully and patriotically carry out the post of president of the republic that the people have entrusted to me," he said with his right hand raised to the congress. Some lawmakers whistled disapprovingly while his supporters drowned out their protest with chants of "Mexico! Mexico!" Pena Nieto put on the presidential sash and headed to the national palace to deliver a speech. Outside, thousands of people took to the streets, chanting "Mexico without PRI," amid tight security with tall metal barricades surrounding the congress. A group of around 500 protesters, many wearing masks, threw Molotov cocktails and objects at the police, who responded with tear gas. Around 20 people were injured, most of them lightly, according to Red Cross workers. One protesters was seen with a head injury while at least five police officers were injured, including two who were hit by Molotov cocktails. The mood was also defiant inside the congress, with leftist lawmakers unfurling a giant black banner with crosses and the words "Imposition accomplished, Mexico in mourning." The second-place finisher in this year's election, leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has refused to conceded defeat, charging that the PRI bought millions of votes. The electoral court threw out his claims. "A spurious government has concluded and the nightmare of imposition, illegitimacy and return to the past begins," Deputy Ricardo Monreal, who was Lopez Obrador's campaign manager, told the congress. Lopez Obrador had lost the 2006 election to outgoing conservative president Felipe Calderon by less than one point and refused to accept that defeat too. Six years ago, leftist lawmakers took over the legislature's podium in a bid to disrupt Calderon's swearing-in ceremony. This time, PRI lawmakers stood by the steps in an apparent effort to prevent a repeat. "Today is a day of happiness, hope and innovation," said Deputy Arturo Escobar of the Green Party, an ally of the PRI. "Mexico will change and grow." Pena Nieto wants to push through structural reforms to boost Latin America's second biggest economy, which posted stronger growth than regional powerhouse Brazil last year. But the new president faces a relentless drug battle that has killed more than 60,000 people in the last six years.While 25 of the 37 most wanted drug lords have been captured or killed, gangland gunfights, decapitations and kidnappings have surged since 2006, with the murder rate almost tripling to 24 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Calderon deployed 50,000 troops to crack down on criminal groups such as the Sinaloa, Zetas and Gulf cartels, but analysts say the strategy backfired as the captures generated more street fights for control of US smuggling routes. Pena Nieto, who met with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday, has vowed to continue anti-drug cooperation with the United States, though he has called for a new strategy. He says his priority will be to significantly reduce the high levels of violence plaguing Mexicans. Pena Nieto says he wants to boost the ranks of the federal police and move the scandal-plagued force under the interior ministry, getting rid of the public security ministry created by Calderon's predecessor Vicente Fox. The United States is providing equipment, including Blackhawk helicopters, and police training to help Mexico improve law enforcement under the Merida Initiative, which has provided $1.1 billion in aid so far. US Vice President Joe Biden headed the American delegation attending Pena Nieto's inauguration.