Old-Style Taint Shadows Election in Mexico ( Fox/Calderon kickbacks)

[Judi Lynn]

Old-Style Taint Shadows Election in Mexico
Six years after taking office on a wave of public revulsion against corruption, the PAN is seen by some as impeding a clean vote.
By Richard Boudreaux, Times Staff Writer
June 12, 2006

MEXICO CITY — For much of President Vicente Fox's term, Arnulfo Montes Cuén was a prized ally. A spellbinding speaker in a black cowboy hat, he barnstormed rural Mexico, setting up farmers' unions friendly to the ruling National Action Party and cementing their loyalty with access to government aid programs.

Then the 41-year-old organizer fell out with the party and became a whistle-blower, triggering an investigation into the biggest case of alleged illegal funding to surface in this year's presidential race.

As Montes tells it, Fox's government had authorized $5 million for him to buy building materials and distribute them to thousands of poor farmers. But there was a catch: He was to kick back half the money to the campaign of Felipe Calderon, the National Action Party's presidential candidate.

Montes refused and was booted from the program. He is pressing criminal charges against 12 officials of the government and the party, known as the PAN, for allegedly replacing him with someone willing to divert the anti-poverty funds to Calderon's war chest.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-fraud12jun12,1,2414826.story?coll=la-headlines-world