Drugs Grab Mexican Political Spotlight
By JOSE DE CORDOBA
MEXICO CITY -- Revelations that army troops confiscated 14.5 tons of marijuana at a warehouse belonging to the brother of a prominent Mexican senator have heightened feuding in an election season that has been shaken by claims that drug barons have infiltrated the political establishment.
Authorities said the seizure, which took place in January and was reported by the Reforma newspaper Monday, happened at a chili-drying facility owned by Cándido Monreal, the brother of Sen. Ricardo Monreal.
Their brother David, the mayor of Fresnillo, where the warehouse is situated, said Tuesday that the marijuana had been "planted" by his political enemies. David Monreal is running with the left-wing Workers' Party for governor of the state, Zacatecas, in elections next year.
Asked how it was possible to slip in tons of marijuana, Mr. Monreal said, "I think in trucks. I don't know what they used, but it's very simple for those who are in power and for delinquents to do that kind of thing."
Sen. Ricardo Monreal said his family was the victim of "dirty tricks" by Zacatecas Gov. Amalia GarcÃ*a and her daughter, Sen. Claudia Corichi, both of whom are political rivals to the Monreals among Mexico's fractured left-wing parties.
Gov. GarcÃ*a couldn't be reached to comment. Ms. Corichi said the Monreals' allegations were "a smokescreen" to cover up the marijuana bust.
No charges have been filed in the case because the investigation is ongoing, according to the Attorney General's Office.
The drug trade has emerged as a major issue ahead of midterm elections in July. President Felipe Calderón hopes to win a working legislative majority to push through economic overhauls and continue a crackdown against drug gangs.
Mr. Calderón's party has run campaign advertisements accusing the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party of having been in league with drug traffickers during the seven decades the party ruled Mexico.
With Mexico in a deep recession, analysts say voters can be expected to punish Mr. Calderón's conservative National Action Party at the polls, giving the advantage to the PRI.
Recent allegations against the PRI haven't come only from outside the party. Last week, former President Miguel de la Madrid of the PRI, who was in power from 1982 to 1988, said in a radio interview he regretted choosing Carlos Salinas as his successor because Mr. Salinas was corrupt and his brother Raúl had ties to drug traffickers.
Within hours of the broadcast, after being visited by top PRI legislators, Mr. de la Madrid issued a statement that he had misspoken because he was old and infirm. Both Salinas brothers denied the allegations.
Many Mexicans see Raúl Salinas as a symbol of PRI corruption because of such allegations. He spent a decade in prison on a murder conviction before it was overturned and he was released in 2005.
For many Mexicans, Raul Salinas remains an icon of past PRI corruption. Raul Salinas was arrested in 1995 and spent a decade in prison on charges he murdered his former brother in law, a political rival, before his conviction was overturned on appeal and he was freed in 2005. Authorities in Switzerland and France froze more than $115 million in bank accounts in 1995 belonging to Mr. Salinas, on suspicion the money belonged to drug traffickers. But Swiss prosecutors were unable to prove the money came from drug traffickers and later returned it to the Mexican government.
Mr. Calderón's party has suffered its own setbacks. This past week, federal investigators detained the former top security official in Morelos state, as well as the former police chief of the state capital, Cuernavaca, to question them about alleged ties to drug gangs. The officials couldn't be reached for comment. Morelos is run by the National Action Party.
The marijuana scandal isn't the first time charges of drug trafficking have affected Ricardo Monreal's career. In 1998, PRI party elders and top government officials barred him from running for governor because of allegations his brothers were involved in drug trafficking. Mr. Monreal quit the party and went on to win the governorship of Zacatecas for the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution.
On Monday, Mr. Monreal referred to those past allegations, which he denied: "They already tried to do this to my family 10 years ago, and are now trying to do this again."
Write to José de Córdoba at [email protected]
Drugs Grab Mexican Political Spotlight
Quote:
drug barons have infiltrated the political establishment.
duh... im thinkin this shouldnt be a new revalation. with the money and power of the cartels of course they have "infiltrated the political establishment". and what is the key to gettin elected to office here? anybody, anybody, yes thats right money. so what would make mexicos political machine any differant?
