Meanwhile, back in Mexico:

With hundreds of thousands of protesters backing him in the streets, Mr Lopez Obrador is asking the tribunal for two rulings that would stretch legal precedent. Publicly, he is calling for a recount of all 41 million votes in the hope of erasing his 244,000-vote deficit.

The motion also seeks a ruling that the President, Vicente Fox, tilted the playing field to favour Mr Calderon, the candidate of Mr Fox's conservative National Action Party. A favourable ruling on that motion would open the election to annulment and force a new one.