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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | July 2007 
Mexico City Targets Bad Drivers, Dirty Cops
 Hugh Collins - Reuters
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| | Officers take part in last year's literature workshops, part of an effort to improve the forces reputation. (Jo Tuckman) |
Mexico City - Seeking to crack down on widespread chaos and corruption on the streets, Mexico City on Friday introduced tougher traffic laws and incentives for police to stop accepting bribes.
The new program stiffens penalties for driving in bus lanes and drunken driving while rewarding police who report would-be bribe givers with food vouchers.
Bribes are a part of daily life for many of Mexico City's more than 20 million residents, and most officers prefer to pocket a "mordida," or little bite, than go to the trouble of processing an official fine.
Many drivers also find it easier to pay a bribe than to deal with tickets.
The city government wants to change that by offering officers promotions and supermarket vouchers for reporting bribe offers. It has also set up roaming inspection patrols to keep tabs on police and a telephone hotline called Honestel to report corruption.
The government is handing car owners windshield stickers saying "I don't pay bribes" as part of the program.
Under the new rules, some of which go into effect in September, drivers in the traffic-choked and smoggy city face a 3-year ban for not carrying a valid license and could spend a day in jail for drunken driving.
Previous anti-drunken driving campaigns have not been strictly enforced, and infractions like running red lights are widely tolerated.
SKEPTICISM WIDESPREAD
Drivers can also lose their license for being caught twice driving in a bus lane, a widespread practice, and speeding. One rule prohibits fitting neon lights to vehicle license plates.
One of the first victims of the new rules was bus driver Alfredo Palma Serrano. He was caught driving without a valid license and driving with the doors of his bus open, and was fined around $47, a national daily newspaper reported.
Another driver received a $100 ticket for aggressively beeping his car horn.
While most motorists interviewed said they backed the new rules, skepticism was widespread.
"This law is just a way for the PRD (the political party that governs Mexico City) to raise funds," said one man, who asked to remain anonymous. "It won't help Mexico City because the police here are too corrupt."
One fear is that heftier fines will encourage police to demand bigger bribes.
"An ordinary infraction of 1,000 pesos now costs 5,000 pesos, so they will say 'give me 500, instead of 50,'" said messenger Mauricio Alonso.
Police on the street cautiously backed the new laws, but warned corruption was institutional.
"Corruption is a system that goes from the very top to the very bottom," said Guadalupe Garcia, a policewoman on the clogged Reforma Avenue. "And they always go after the weakest people, like us." |
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