Before Lopez Obrador's supporters blockaded the heart of the megalopolis of 20 million, marches for different causes intersected almost daily en route to the Zocalo, the country's most important plaza. Police rarely do more than scramble to clear the streets of traffic until marchers pass by.
In other countries, a weekslong blockade of key streets might provoke authorities to drag away demonstrators and release tear gas. In the United States, they might be relegated to ``free speech zones."
But even socially conservative Mexicans have grown used to seeing female farmers standing naked on barrels, demanding justice in obscure land disputes. Some protesters are bused in and paid by political parties and unions.
For seven decades, the Institutional Revolutionary Party allowed street protests as an escape valve, letting Mexicans feel like they had a voice in government while authorities wheeled and dealed behind closed doors, often buying off organizers or threatening them until the demonstrations stopped.
President Vicente Fox prides himself on doing away with back-room deals, but his refusal to get involved in local disputes has allowed protests to flourish. Despite pleas from the governor, the federal government won't help clear protesters from the historic square in the tourist city of Oaxaca.
``It's getting to the level of ridiculousness," said Mexico City radio commentator Ana Maria Salazar. ``You see 10 neighbors angry about not having water in their building go out to protest in the streets. You don't need many people to paralyze the city's important avenues because the authorities don't step in."
Lopez Obrador has taken the tradition to a new level.
For nearly three weeks, his protesters have camped in tents where six lanes of traffic once zoomed down Reforma Avenue, past the capital's museums, stock market, and corporate headquarters. City officials who answer to Lopez Obrador's Democratic Revolution Party have supplied and protected the tent cities, even providing electricity and water.
Each morning, protesters fan out to blockade a government building, financial institution, or embassy. They've also taken over toll booths on highways outside the capital, briefly allowing thousands free passage into the city.
