A new leader for the PRI?
James McKinley, Jr.'s article in the New York Times offers an illustration of one route to political power in Mexico.In Mexico, Rebel Politician Courts the Law-and-Order Vote
"As politicians go, Jorge Hank Rhon, the former mayor of this teeming border town, is more colorful than most...
"He also carries more baggage than most. Over the years, his political enemies and United States law enforcement officials have accused him of smuggling wild animals, laundering money for drug cartels and ordering the murder of a journalist in the 1980s."But Mr. Hank has never been charged with a crime, much less convicted, in the state of Baja California, and now he stands an even chance of being elected its governor when voters go to the polls here on Sunday, surveys and political analysts say.
"If he wins, he will have defied all expectations and will become one of the leading lights of the Institutional Revolutionary Party...
"He has been promising to attack crime by providing better guns and a network of surveillance cameras to the state police, as he did with the notoriously corrupt Tijuana police force. He has also promised to rid state schools of unnecessary fees and to build roads and rail links to develop port towns...
"But Alberto Capella, president of the state Citizen’s Council on Public Security, said Mr. Hank’s claim that crime had dropped did not square with state records...
"Mr. Hank, the son of a noted PRI politician, Carlos Hank González, has become fabulously wealthy... with a dog track in Tijuana and a string of betting parlors across Mexico known as Caliente. All require government permits, and he acquired the franchises by wielding his political influence with several past presidents.
"He also knows the value of a good party...
"This week, his final campaign rally there went on from 6 p.m. to midnight. Several well-known bands played. There were free food, drinks and campaign T-shirts all around.
"While most of his supporters acknowledge his shady reputation, they also note that he has done a good job on delivering the basics, like filling potholes, paying for school uniforms and making sure the elderly receive their state subsidies..."
Labels: leadership, Mexico, politics
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:31 AM
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Mexico: New Allegations of Corrupt Police for Tijuana’s Ex-Mayor
"Jorge Hank Rhon, the fabulously wealthy former mayor of Tijuana, faced new accusations of corruption in his city’s police force, just four days before voters are to decide whether he will be the new governor of Baja California.
"The newspaper Reforma reported that federal authorities had issued arrest warrants for two of Mr. Hank’s former police commanders, alleging the cover-up of a murder by police officers in 2005 and the killing of another police commander in 2006.
"Mr. Hank, 51, who operates a network of betting parlors, has been running on a promise to clean up crime in the drug-plagued state, while his political opponents have accused him of being involved in crimes ranging from money-laundering to murder. He denies any wrongdoing and has never been charged with a crime."
Bellwether Mexico Election Goes Smoothly
"Voters went to the polls on Sunday in Baja California to decide between a conservative economist from the president’s party and a colorful tycoon who owns betting parlors and comes from a storied political family in the once dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI...
"Despite dire warnings before the election that there would be fraud on both sides, the polling went forward with few problems or incidents, though some polling places opened late or not at all.
"At 6:30 p.m., barely a half hour after polls closed, the National Action party chairman, Manuel Espino, and Mr. Osuna Millán appeared at a hotel to declare victory on the strength of three exit polls...
"Still, there were no official results and Mr. Hank did not concede defeat...
"In general, however, the voting was peaceful and turnout was low..."
Early Returns Indicate Gambling Tycoon Will Not Be Governor of Baja California
"The quest of Jorge Hank Rhon, a gambling tycoon and former Tijuana mayor, to become governor of the Mexican state of Baja California ended in failure Monday morning, as preliminary election returns showed he had lost to his rival from the president’s National Action Party..."
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