Mexico Lawmakers Accused of Demanding Kickbacks from Municipalities Richard Fausset - The Los Angeles Times
go to original November 23, 2013

A protester in a Guy Fawkes mask takes part in a Mexico City demonstration against government corruption. (Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images)

MEXICO CITY — No one ever said it was easy being a mayor in Mexico, where corruption is as common as cacti, politics is a Machiavellian game of three-dimensional chess and drug cartels are often more powerful than local governments.

But in recent days, Mexicans have seen the depth of the challenge facing the men and women charged with running the 2,438 municipios, roughly the equivalent of U.S. counties, that are supposed to be a building block of governance here.

The mayor of Santa Ana Maya, a rural municipality in Michoacan state, was killed this month after complaining that cartel members were regularly demanding a chunk of the federal money meant for public works projects in his area, a practice he said was widespread.

Now it seems the drug lords may not be the only ones demanding their cut.

Several lawmakers and heads of local governance associations recently have begun accusing legislators in the Mexican Congress of also regularly shaking down municipal governments, demanding that they kick back "tithes" of at least 10% if they want infrastructure projects included in federal budget plans. Sometimes the lawmakers allegedly demand that projects be built by specific companies that are run by their cronies.

Though no proof of the practice has emerged, the allegations have plunged Mexico City, the capital, into full scandal mode, with investigations demanded and lawsuits threatened. Former allies have turned on one another.

Read the rest at The Los Angeles Times

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