WASHINGTON - July 4 -

JOHN ROSS
A U.S. journalist currently in Mexico City, Ross is author of the book "Mexico in Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture."

NADIA MARTINEZ, http://www.ips-dc.org
Policy analyst for Institute for Policy Studies, Martinez said today: "While it isn't yet clear who will be Mexico's next president, the overwhelming support garnered by Lopez Obrador is a clear sign that large numbers of Mexicans, like Latin Americans generally, want significant change in the direction of their country."

CHUCK COLLINS
Senior scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies, Collins lives in Oaxaca, Mexico and is covering the Mexican elections. Martinez and Collins co-wrote a piece "Winner Will Make Big Difference North Of The Border," which was published by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He just wrote a piece "Mexican Election in Limbo."

MARK WEISBROT
Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and has written extensively on Latin America. His up-to-date backgrounder on economic issues in the Mexican election is available as a PDF. A recent column, "Mexico: Their Brand is Crisis," is at http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0701-27.htm. Weisbrot said today: "It's pretty clear that Mexico needs to reconsider its economic policies. Over the 25 years since 1980, income per person in Mexico has grown by just 17 percent. To see how bad this is, one need only look at the 20 years from 1960-1980, when the country's per capita income grew by 99 percent. If the Mexican economy had simply continued to grow at its pre-1980 rate, average income in Mexico would be at the level of Spain today. There would be far fewer Mexicans looking to emigrate illegally to the United States."

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CINDY SHEEHAN, DIANE WILSON, via Meredith Dearborn
A host of activists today are launching the "Troops Home Fast" -- they will be fasting and organizing events across from the White House until mid-August. A schedule of events today and for the next month is available here. Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Sheehan who was killed in action in Iraq on 04/04/04. She is co-founder and president of Gold Star Families for Peace and author of the books "Not One More Mother's Child" and "Dear President Bush." Her latest article is "Bombs Bursting in Air," see: http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/06/07/con06285.html. Wilson is an activist and author of the book "An Unreasonable Woman." She said today: "Iraqi lives are on the line every day. And so are the bodies of the U.S. soldiers. So shouldn't we be putting our bodies on the line? Shouldn't we be as serious about making peace as some people are about making war?" Other notables engaging in the fast will include Dick Gregory and Daniel Ellsberg.

ARUN GANDHI, http://www.GandhiInstitute.org
Co-founder (with his wife, Sunanda Gandhi) of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, Arun Gandhi lived with his grandfather Mahatma Gandhi from 1946 until his assassination in 1948. He said today: "This fast is one form of protest against the war. I cannot be there with them in Washington, D.C., but I want to morally support them." Arun Gandhi's books include "Legacy of Love: My Education in the Path of Nonviolence."

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