Vicente Fox - Ex-Mexican leader's statue felled

Vicente Fox denies allegations he enriched himself while president

Opposition protesters in Mexico have torn down a bronze statue of the former president, Vicente Fox, just hours after it was erected.

They threw eggs at the monument in Boca del Rio in the state of Veracruz, before putting a rope around its neck and pulling it to the ground.

Many of the crowd were reported to be supporters of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

It lost power after more than 70 years when Mr Fox was elected in July 2000.

More than 100 angry protesters are reported to have attacked the statue on Saturday morning, just after it had been put up by workers.

An inauguration ceremony scheduled for Sunday has now been cancelled.

"We came to represent society because we don't want this monument here," Adolfo Mota, a PRI lawmaker in Mexico's lower house of congress, told AP news agency.

Mr Fox is facing a financial probe into allegations he enriched himself during his presidency. He denies any wrongdoing.