Mexico vote-buying scandal threatens president's agenda of reforms
Source: Los Angeles Times
Mexico vote-buying scandal threatens president's agenda of reforms
President Enrique Peña Nieto's Pact for Mexico is on the verge of collapse after fresh reports of electoral dirty tricks by his Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
By Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times
April 23, 2013, 5:55 p.m.
MEXICO CITY Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Tuesday faced the most serious political crisis of his young government, an explosive dispute with rival parties over electoral dirty tricks that could imperil his ambitious reform plans.
Peña Nieto's highly touted Pact for Mexico, a kind of blueprint for his administration's agenda that had seemed to have won consensus from most major political groups, was on the verge of collapse after fresh reports of vote-buying by the president's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
The government was forced to cancel a series of public events under the auspices of the Pact for Mexico to avoid the embarrassment of a boycott by the main opposition factions. The first casualty would appear to be a broad reform to overhaul Mexico's financial sector, which was scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday.
Peña Nieto's right-hand man, Finance Minister Luis Videgaray, went on early-morning television to assure domestic and international audiences that the financial reform was not dead and would be presented "in a few days." He also said he was confident that "dialogue" would resume soon.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-politics-20130424,0,6221471.story
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