DATE=1/6/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=MEXICO CORRUPTION (CQ)
NUMBER=5-45191
BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS
DATELINE=MEXICO CITY
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The presidential candidate of Mexico's ruling
Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, Francisco
Labastida, this week made the fight against corruption
the main issue in his campaign. Rival party spokesmen
and candidates are scoffing at his proposals, though,
because they say the PRI has built its power on
corruption. Correspondent Greg Flakus reports from
Mexico City.
TEXT: On Monday, Francisco Labastida announced his
plan to wage war against corruption in Mexico, with an
initial focus on his own party. He outlined a number
of proposals in the following days to make both the
PRI and the government more honest. Reaction from
opponents was swift and skeptical, but Mr. Labastida
dismissed all criticism as just politics.
/// LABASTIDA SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
He said he would not fall into the trap of responding
to superficial political attacks made by those seeking
notoriety.
Mr. Labastida also chided his opponents for not fully
revealing details about their own personal wealth and
where it came from. He did this two months ago, in an
unusual gesture in Mexican politics, and has called
for all other candidates for public office to do the
same. But his closest rival in the public opinion
polls, National Action Party candidate Vicente Fox,
ridiculed the action.
/// FOX SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
He asked why Mr. Labastida had not set an example when
he was Interior Minister last year by making his
finances public and by requiring his subordinates to
do the same. Mr. Fox said actions speak louder than
words.
Mr. Fox also said that the PRI is so corrupt after 70
years of interrupted rule that if party leaders truly
attacked corruption-in his words-"there would not be
enough jails to lock up all those who have enriched
themselves illegally."
The president of the leftist Party of the Democratic
Revolution, Amalia Garcia, in her comments to
reporters, suggested that if Mr. Labastida really
wants to fight corruption, he should start with his
own campaign team.
/// GARCIA SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
She said there are members of the Labastida team who
cannot justify the properties they own. She said Mr.
Labastida's campaign aides should explain how they
obtained their wealth.
PRI officials, however, have concentrated on the
proposals made by Mr. Labastida and have called on all
party members to support them. PRI President Dulce
Maria Sauri says all party members running for
legislative positions should publicly declare their
finances in order to show that they have - as she put
it-"clean hands and consciences."
The issue of corruption is one that strikes deep into
the hearts and pocket books of the Mexican people.
Many Mexicans express cynicism about local, state and
federal government officials because of the
corruption, both petty and grand, they have
witnessed. Policemen and bureaucrats are widely known
to collect bribes - known as "mordidas" or bites - for
small favors such as tearing up a traffic ticket or
smoothing the way for a permit. Law enforcement
experts say the multi-billion-dollar narcotics traffic
in Mexico would not exist if it were not for the
extensive corruption of police officers and other
public officials.
One critic of the PRI, Porfirio Munoz Ledo,
presidential candidate of the Party of the Authentic
Mexican Revolution, says the problem did not begin
with the ruling party. Speaking to TV Azteca in
Mexico City on Thursday, Mr. Munoz Ledo said
corruption is a thread woven into the nation's
history.
/// MUNOZ LEDO SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
He says from the time of the Spanish conquest of the
Aztec empire 480 years ago, there has been a system in
which government leaders and bureaucrats have sought
to enrich themselves at the expense of the king or the
public. He says corruption continued after Mexico
became independent, with the exception of a reform
period in the 1860's under President Benito Juarez,
because public officials have seen the use of public
money as a way of reaching and maintaining power.
Some political analysts say the open debate over the
issue of corruption could be healthy, since one of the
reasons corruption exists is the lack of
accountability that many government officials have had
in the past. As Mexico enters a new, democratic era,
they say politicians must be more accountable to the
electorate and citizens must be more demanding of the
people they elect. In order to reduce corruption,
political analysts say, Mexico needs strong laws with
real punishment for those who abuse power.
Mexico is currently the 21st most corrupt nation in the
rating done by the non-governmental organization
Transparency International. (Signed).
NEB/gf/gm
06-Jan-2000 13:08 PM EDT (06-Jan-2000 1808 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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