Mexico's chief has a chaotic inaugural

MEXICO CITY -- Felipe Calderón, protected by a scrum of sympathetic lawmakers, ignored catcalls and rushed through the presidential oath of office in the congressional chamber yesterday, making a chaotic start to a term in which he pledged to heal a country divided by his narrow victory.

Later, in his first speech as Mexico's president at the National Auditorium, Calderón offered to negotiate with leftist lawmakers who had tried to block his inauguration and asked for the opportunity to win over the tens of thousands of protesters outside. But he warned rivals that they would not stall his government.

"I'm always ready to talk, but I won't wait for dialogue before going to work," he said. "The people are ready for action."

Calderón gave a list of instructions to Cabinet members, telling them to slash his salary and their own, to come up with a plan to overhaul the justice system, to create a social net to help the country's most vulnerable, to build a competitive economy, and to streamline the electoral system.

He promised to create jobs so that millions of Mexicans would not have to look for work outside of the country.

"Migration continues to divide our families," Calderón said. "Instead of leaving to work in the United States, I want to look for investment here in Mexico for our workers."

The new president, a lawyer by training, spent most of his speech demanding a strict rule of law.

"Laws must protect citizens, not criminals," said Calderón, who is 44. "It won't be easy or quick. It will take time and a lot of money. But rest assured: This is a battle that I will lead."

Calderón ignored calls to move his inauguration. Minutes before Calderón arrived, legislators threw chairs and shoved one another to the floor.

"It's good action," quipped Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, who attended the ceremony along with former President George H.W. Bush.