A Talk With Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

So you won't be like Chavez trying to overthrow governments here and there?

No extravaganzas. . . . One size does not fit all.

Do you think Calderon is a weak candidate?

No . . . he has the support of the government. The campaign manager of Calderon is Fox. He doesn't want me to win the election and has done everything he can to stop me. . . . There has been a lot of interference by the government in favor of [Calderon]. What's important in Mexico is that the mindset of the people has changed. In the past we were like imaginary citizens. Today people are well informed, very aware and highly politicized. . . . There was a group that tried to depose me as mayor of Mexico City and remove my immunity. . . . They wanted to indict me on criminal charges so that I would be barred from running [for president]. They were persecuting me in the same way as they once persecuted Martin Luther King Jr.

Can you make a difference to your country if you become president?

Yes. Mexico has many resources. But the Mexican people have a huge slab on top of them that holds them down.

What is that?

Corruption and privileges. Mexico is a country that belongs to a select few, and we want it to be a country for all.