Thousands march in Mexico City against crime

Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Mexico City yesterday to protest Mexico's failure to control rampant crime in one of the world's most crime-wracked countries.

Demonstrators, many dressed in white and some carrying banners that read "Enough," marched from the Angel independence monument in the city toward the main Zocalo Square in a protest organised by business groups and crime victims.

"We are saying 'enough' to kidnappings, organised crime and the failure of politicians to give us security," said protester Jorge Fernandez.

Mexicans have been shocked by a recent wave of kidnappings. In once case last month, two kidnapped brothers were shot dead and their bodies dumped in a garbage bin despite their parents payment of a $600,000 ransom.

From 1992 to 2002, Mexicans reported at least 15,000 kidnappings, second only to war-torn Colombia in incidence of the crime, according to the Inter-American Development Bank.

The march has pitted President Vicente Fox against political rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the mayor of Mexico City, who protesters accuse of not being tough enough on violent crime.

Mr Fox, a conservative, has sided with the marchers and urged the Mexico City administration to do more to fight crime.