2006年VOA标准英语-US Expert: Rocky Road Ahead for Mexico's New Pr

By Greg Flakus
Houston
06 September 2006

Now that the Mexican electoral tribunal has declared Felipe Calderon president-elect, the path should be clear for him to begin forging a new government to tackle his country's many problems. But losing candidate Manuel Lopez Obrador refuses to concede defeat and plans to form a parallel government.

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Felipe Calderon holds up a newspaper with the headline saying 'YES, Calderon, elected unanimously'  
  
The announcement by the tribunal ended more than two months of uncertainty¹ about whether the results from the July 2 voting would be approved or annulled². But the story is not over from a political standpoint since Lopez Obrador rejects the tribunal's ruling and says he will hold an assembly in Mexico City in two weeks at which he will be declared president by what he calls "the people."

George Grayson, a top expert on Mexico who teaches at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, just returned from Mexico, where he observed the situation up close. In a VOA telephone interview, he stresses the need for Calderon to move forward quickly with a plan to help the more than half of Mexicans who live in poverty, many of whom voted for Lopez Obrador.

"I think he will be successful, but he has to start by addressing the issues that Lopez Obrador trumpeted³, mainly the gross inequality between the haves and have-nots and, secondly⁴, the pitiably low expenditure⁵ on health and education and job creation," he explained.  

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador  
  
Lopez Obrador remains⁶ camped in Mexico City's main plaza⁷, the Zocalo, with several thousand supporters. They have also blocked most of the city's main thoroughfare, Paseo de la Reforma. But Professor Grayson does not believe that will go on much longer. He believes the protesters will be forced out before the celebration of the Cry-of-Independence on September 15, which is to be followed by a military parade the next day from the Zocalo and down Reforma.

Grayson says Lopez Obrador will have to move on.

"He will move around the country. I think his presence will be positive, in that he will keep the pressure on Mexico's establishment to undertake reforms, but his will largely be a side show," he added.

Other observers in the Mexican capital, however, are not so sure. Lopez Obrador seems determined⁸ to remain in the Zocalo and recently called on the armed forces to disregard any orders to remove them. Members of his party, the left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution(PRD) have remained at his side in this struggle, but citizens of Mexico City are growing weary of the strife⁹.

PRD senators and deputies last week staged a protest in the Congress that prevented President Vicente Fox from delivering his "informe," or state-of-the-nation address, but Professor Grayson says such antics do not appeal to state governors.

"The governors in the country, including at least two PRD governors, are pragmatic, they are results oriented, and they want to see Felipe Calderon succeed, because unlike legislators who can act like divas and simply spout¹⁰ purple rhetoric¹¹, the governors have to achieve things," he noted¹².  "They have to build schools, they have to construct clinics, and they are quite willing, in fact, eager, to work with the president-elect."

Grayson notes that Lopez Obrador may proclaim himself president and hold rallies, but Felipe Calderon, after he assumes office on December 1, will wield¹³ real power in terms of appointments, directives and budgeting of federal funds.

He says some PRD leaders are worried that Lopez Obrador may be dragging the party down with him through his continuing protest. Public opinion polls show he is losing support.

Professor Grayson says PRD founder¹⁴ Cuauhtemoc Cardenas and his son, Lazaro Cardenas, the current governor of the state of Michoacan, along with Zacatecas governor Amalia Garcia, are seeking to limit damage to their party.

"They have no love lost, whatsoever¹⁵, for Lopez Obrador," he said.  "They believe that he is dogmatic, that he is undemocratic, that he is secretive, that he is messianic. I think we will hear from not only Amalia Garcia, but Cardenas, father and son, within the next few days."

Since it was founded about 12 years ago, the PRD has grown into the second political force in the country, behind the ruling National Action Party (PAN). Some party members now see those gains at risk, because of public anger over the ongoing¹⁶ protests.

1 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

2 annulled   

v.宣告无效( annul的过去式和过去分词 )；取消；使消失；抹去

参考例句：

• Their marriage was annulled after just six months. 他们的婚姻仅过半年就宣告取消。
• Many laws made by the former regime have been annulled. 前政权制定的许多法律被宣布无效。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 trumpeted   

大声说出或宣告（trumpet的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Soldiers trumpeted and bugled. 士兵们吹喇叭鸣号角。
• The radio trumpeted the presidential campaign across the country. 电台在全国范围大力宣传总统竞选运动。

4 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

5 expenditure   

n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗

参考例句：

• The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
• The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

10 spout   

v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱

参考例句：

• Implication in folk wealth creativity and undertaking vigor spout.蕴藏于民间的财富创造力和创业活力喷涌而出。
• This acts as a spout to drain off water during a rainstorm.在暴风雨季，这东西被用作喷管来排水。

11 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

14 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

15 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

16 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。