Mexican Protesters Call for End to War

Protesters demanded 'No more war!' and called Mexican President Felipe Calderon a 'lapdog' of the U.S. on Wednesday, wrapping up days of often violent protests that dogged President Bush's five-nation tour of Latin America.

As the U.S. leader's plane took off Wednesday, about two dozen protesters circled Merida's central Zocalo plaza shouting 'Bush understand this, Mexico doesn't want you!' and 'Calderon is a lapdog of the imperialists!'

They demanded the release of dozens of fellow demonstrators who were rounded up the night before during a violent clash with some 200 riot police in the same square.

On Wednesday, protester and university professor Mauricio Macosay denounced the police response as 'brutal' and 'exaggerated' and said many of those detained had been marching peacefully.

He and others marched through the streets, stopping briefly at the municipal palace and chanting: 'Freedom for political prisoners!'
...