Justice in Mexico

PRI Devises New Plan to Eliminate Corruption in Elections

1/16/12 – Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party  (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI) announced on Monday that it has created a plan to reduce organized crime infiltration in the next elections, which will be held on July 1.  Political contenders will have to meet certain requirements in order to qualify to run for a position. The party has proposed having federal authorities conduct background checks on potential candidates to ensure that they do not have a record of being associated with any cartels.  The national PRI, president Pedro Joaquín Coldwell, added that if it turns out that a candidate is associated with criminal organizations, he or she will be denied the right to continue in the race and the illegal doings will be reported to the proper authorities immediately. Joaquín Coldwell stated that in order for Mexico to “preserve democracy and prevent it from deteriorating, the federal government must play an active role in the process.” Candidates must be “shielded from corruption” in order to maintain clean elections.

The PRI’s plan also includes the creation of a special commission that will closely monitor donations and endorsements given to candidates to ensure that all money is funneled in a legal manner. The commission, called the Vigilant Commission on Financing (Comision Vigilancia del Financiamiento), will also be responsible for training campaign managers about proper fundraising rules and regulations. Additionally, it will conduct audits in districts not covered by the Federal Electoral Institute (Instituto Federal Electoral, IFE).

The plan will be presented to the Political Commission (Comision Politica) this upcoming Wednesday, January 18.  PRI members from all levels of government, including county, state, and federal, are expected to attend. If the plan is approved, it will affect the July 1 elections in which a new president, half the Senate, and 500 Chamber of Deputies seats will be chosen.

Sources:

Associated Press.  “México: PRI anuncia plan para evitar infiltración del narco.”  Univisión Noticias.

Agencias.  “Presenta PRI propuesta para blindar campañas.”  NCRzacatecas.com.  January 16, 2012.

Mendoza, Emanuel.  “Blinda PRI elecciones del 2012 contra el “narcotráfico.”  Noticias Terra.  January 16, 2012.

“PRI Presenta Plan Para “Blindar” Eleccion.”  Ansa Latina.  January 16, 2012.

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