Postcard: Mexico City

Construction worker Macario Lopez has lined up for four hours--along with his brothers, children and nephews--to swap his cowboy boots for a pair of ice skates. He could never afford to take his family to a commercial rink, which costs about $5 a head, he says. But the Christmas season has brought a colossal 34,400-sq.-ft. (about 3,200 sq m) open-air skating rink to the central square known as the Zócalo in the heart of Mexico City. It's the largest rink in the world, boosters claim. More important, it's free. Tens of thousands of eager Mexico City residents have turned out to glide, slide and stumble on the ice for the first time in their lives. "This is really great, especially for the kids," says Lopez. "At least the mayor is giving something back to the people. Most of our governors give us nothing." The rink is part of Mayor Marcelo Ebrard's campaign to make this polluted mountain capital a more pleasant environment. Last spring he shipped in tons of sand to create four urban beaches, which were also a hit with residents. In addition, Ebrard has built miles of cycle paths, where he has posed for photographs atop his mountain bike on sunny Sundays.

The rink, surrounded by towering models of candles and a vast canvas featuring a moonlit lake, is a surreal spectacle in the midst of Mexico City's grinding traffic, colonial churches and endless protest marches. To add to the illusion of escape, sweet ballads play through huge speakers as the skaters glide along. Skating is a novel experience for most of those venturing onto the ice, and teams of white-helmeted city workers are constantly rushing to help citizens who have fallen on their faces. "Don't form chains," a supervisor cautions over the public-address system. "Don't smoke in the rink. Don't talk on your cell phones. It's for your own safety."

Not everyone is cheering, of course. Detractors accuse the openly leftist mayor of spending public money to provide circuses for poor Mexicans in exchange for their votes. Ebrard is having none of it, retorting that such criticism comes from the rich élite who can afford to take vacations on the beach or at ski resorts. The mayor is laying on recreation for the city's millions of have-nots who can barely afford to feed their families, let alone take a holiday. "The ice rink has been an incredible success," the mayor said recently. "Look how many people have come." He has promised to open two more free ice rinks on the outskirts of the city, claiming the project would also increase the number of Mexicans in figure-skating tournaments. U.S. and Canadian skating champions whizzed around the rink at its opening earlier this month, and a German team performed choreography from Grease to the applause of some 60,000 spectators.

But political analyst Federico Estévez says Ebrard's ice rinks and beaches are camouflage for a mayor with no significant policies. "You can't fool the middle class that they are in Rockefeller Center," Estévez says. "Where is the policy here? How about trying to attract some investment." Being mayor of Mexico City is a traditional apprenticeship for presidential candidates of Ebrard's Democratic Revolution Party. But despite the entertainments he has introduced, Ebrard is constantly overshadowed by his mentor and predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who gained immense popularity through programs and projects for both the poor and the middle class.

López Obrador lost the 2006 presidential race to conservative Felipe Calderón by less than 0.58% of the vote in an election that was decided by the Federal Electoral Tribunal. The charismatic López Obrador claims he was robbed and calls himself Mexico's "legitimate President" at mass meetings and marches. López Obrador's shadow reaches even as far as Ebrard's ice rink. "Support the legitimate President! Down with the usurper Calderón!" militants shouted while handing out pamphlets at the rink recently as skaters raced around in the Mexico City dusk.