MEXICO CITY, July 30 (Reuters) - A fiery leftist who says he was robbed of victory in Mexico's presidential election set up protest camps to paralyze the heart of the capital on Sunday after leading hundreds of thousands of supporters in demanding a vote recount. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would join activists in living day and night at the camps in the vast Zocalo square and on main roads running through the city center until Mexico's electoral court orders and completes a recount of every vote.
The protest could last for weeks and cripple key areas of the capital from Monday morning.
These include its financial district and the elegant Reforma boulevard that houses top hotels, the U.S. Embassy, government ministries and the headquarters of banks and major companies.
Under torrential rain, Lopez Obrador's supporters quickly shut down Reforma on Sunday night by putting up tents in the middle of the road, and they vowed to keep it closed.
That would cause traffic chaos when the city wakes to a new working week on Monday unless police move the protesters aside. Mexico City's government and its police force are controlled by Lopez Obrador's Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD.
The occupation marked the start of a promised campaign of civil disobedience to protest alleged fraud in the July 2 election, and raised the stakes in Mexico's political crisis.
