Newshawk: The Constitution a Victim of the Drug War www.csdp.org/ads/const.htm
Pubdate: Sun, 4 Jul 2010
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Page: Front Page, continued on page A12
Copyright: 2010 Los Angeles Times
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/bc7El3Yo
Author: Tracy Wilkinson, Reporting from Culiacan, Mexico; Ken
Ellingwood, Reporting from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Mexico
MEXICO UNDER SIEGE
DRUG TIES LOSE POLITICAL STIGMA
Narcotic Traffickers’ Tentacles Are Sinking Deeper into Mexico’s
Power Structure
Fifteen years ago, Sinaloa state’s moneyed elite wouldn’t give Jesus
Vizcarra the time of day. His murky past and reputed personal ties to
major drug traffickers kept him out of the top social clubs and
business associations.
Today the same power brokers who once shunned him are Vizcarra’s
enthusiastic backers as he emerges as the solid favorite to become
governor of the key state.
To critics, Vizcarra’s election on Sunday would be the culmination of
a steady penetration by narcotics traffickers into Mexican political
power. Vizcarra, backed by the omnipotent Institutional Revolutionary
Party, or PRI, counters that he has done nothing wrong, and he has
not been charged with any crime. But he has refused to answer pointed
questions about his past, nor has he been able to explain away
compromising evidence and a fast-amassed fortune.
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Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n518.a01.html