Mexican President to attend Mandela tribute Tuesday

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto will attend a South African national memorial service Tuesday honoring late civil rights icon Nelson Mandela, the country's foreign ministry said Saturday.

 

Pena Nieto will participate in the funeral ceremony in a "show of solidarity with the South African nation in this time of mourning," the ministry said in a statement.

 

It also said the president expressed sympathy and support from the people of Mexico "for this irreparable loss."

 

Leaders from around the world will attend the Tuesday tribute, to be held in Johannesburg's football stadium, which seats some 94,000 people.

 

South Africa has declared a period of mourning for all of next week, starting Sunday with a "national day of prayer and reflection."

 

A hero of South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle and the nation's first black president, Mandela died December 5 at age 95 at his home in Johannesburg.

 

-Sapa-AFP