| | |  News Around the Republic of Mexico | May 2009 
Accusations Cast Cloud Over Upcoming Elections
 Malcolm Beith - The News
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 |  | Every other moment in this campaign season, it would appear, a politician is throwing another blow at an opponent. |  | | |
The July 5 midterms are fast becoming "narco-elections."
That's the opinion of some Mexican pundits following the scandal regarding Ricardo Monreal and his brothers, who are being investigated for possible drug trafficking connections after 11.4 tons of marijuana were found in a Zacatecas warehouse in their name.
Monreal has stepped down from his Senate position - he led the Labor Party, or PT, bloc in the upper house - pending an investigation into his brothers' affairs. (By removing himself from his post, he relinquished the immunity from prosecution bestowed on active public officials.)
But the war of words between him and Zacatecas Gov. Amalia García continues to draw in others in their ranks. Monreal accused García and her administration of persecuting his family (and even reportedly having the marijuana planted in the warehouse), and alleged the state government had to be complicit in a recent Zacatecas prison break in which 53 inmates escaped.
Last week, members of the PT circled the wagons around Monreal, while leading members of the already divided Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, backed García, a member of their party.
García is "an honorable" person, said PRD president Jesús Ortega.
The back-and-forth has some analysts lamenting the fact that politicians are busy leveling accusations at each other instead of productively proposing how they would improve the country ahead of the July 5 midterms, which will see the Chamber of Deputies overhauled. Six governors will also be elected, and local seats will be disputed.
Earlier this year, the Federal Electoral Institute, or IFE, expressed serious concerns over how the campaigns would be kept free of drug-trafficking cash, but it's the accusation-hurling that has made headlines.
In recent weeks, allegations have been bandied about even by top party officials. National Party president Germán Martínez said members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, were to blame for having let drug traffickers establish themselves during its 71-year reign. Charges have been leveled at former PAN president Vicente Fox for allegedly letting Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán escape from prison in 2001. Every other moment in this campaign season, it would appear, a politician is throwing another blow at an opponent.
"No one knows how much truth there is to these accusations - nobody ever has proof," wrote El Universal columnist Ricardo Alemán on Thursday. But one thing is certain, according to Alemán: "This is the electoral war today."
Pollsters already point to massive public distrust of politicians in Mexico as a reason that abstention will play a big role come July 5.
This isn't the first time Monreal has faced heat over drug trafficking. Rumors of his brothers being engaged in illicit activity surfaced in 1998 when he was considering a run for Zacatecas governor for the PRI. He instead won for the PRD, which he recently quit for the PT. |
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