Thousands protest Pena Nieto vote win in Mexico

Thousands of demonstrators marched through Mexico City in protest Sunday at the presidential election victory of Enrique Pena Nieto, whom his leftist rival has accused of massive vote-buying. Placards carried by protesters read "Winning by cheating is not winning at all and is illegal," or "You launder money, we are cleaning our consciences." Others called on the independent Federal Electoral Institute to take action, saying Pena Nieto's victory in the July 1 election was being "imposed" on the country. A government public security official estimated turnout for the rally, organized by the #YoSoy132 student movement, at 15,000. Protesters marched on the central Paseo de la Reforma and ended up at the Zocalo, the main square in the Mexican capital. Pena Nieto won the ballot with 38.2 percent of the vote against 31.6 percent for leftist rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, according to vote results that included a recount at half of the country's polling stations. Lopez Obrador had filed a legal complaint calling for the results to be thrown out, saying Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) won thanks to paid favorable media coverage and handouts of 1.8 million gift cards. According to Lopez Obrador, of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), Pena Nieto also broke campaign spending limits and obtained illegal support from PRI state governors. Pena Nieto and the PRI -- which ruled Mexico for decades until 2000 using a mixture of patronage, repression, rigged elections and bribery -- have denied all charges of wrongdoing. Lopez Obrador came in second in the 2006 presidential election, losing by less than one percentage point. He then led protests that virtually paralyzed Mexico City for more than a month, claiming fraud. Pena Nieto, who is to take over from outgoing leader Felipe Calderon, inherits a country beset by a brutal drug war and an economy struggling to create jobs, and has promised to create work through public works contracts.