- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
E-mail
Print
MEXICO CITY -
Mexico's leading presidential candidate, the leftist former mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, lives in a 1,500-square-foot apartment in the heart of the city's university village.
Conservative free-market candidate Felipe Calderon lives in a 2,900-square-foot home around the corner from Pizza Hut, Burger King and Blockbuster, neon-lighted landmarks in Mexico's new global economy.
Roberto Madrazo, candidate of the once-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party, has a 14,000-square-foot home on a 3.6-acre estate overlooking the capital.
All three men have spent their lives in public service, moving between elected office and political party jobs. The annual income for each man barely cracks six figures.
But according to his financial statements, Madrazo has five houses, three 2,800-square-foot condominiums, a Porsche, a BMW, a Ford Expedition, $500,000 in gold and cash and has lent people $250,000 more.
He has a lease-option on a $1-million-plus Miami condo, but everything else is his -- no mortgages, no monthly payments.
Many voters wonder: How the heck did Roberto Madrazo get so rich?
The answers shed little light on Madrazo's financial acumen. But even asking the question says a lot about changes in Mexican politics that threaten to strand Madrazo and the former ruling party he represents.
Polls show Madrazo in third place, with negative ratings double those of his opponents. His campaign appearances draw hecklers. On the street, people roll their eyes at the mention of Madrazo and money. Newspapers speculate on whether he'll be yanked before the July 2 election.
One longtime political historian thinks he knows why.
"Madrazo represents the traditional political class," said Lorenzo Meyer, professor at the Center for International Studies at the College of Mexico.
"In the Mexican traditional political class, most live off politics, not for politics. In that sense, I would say Calderon and Lopez Obrador live for politics," he said.
But, he added, Madrazo "never descended from the high ranks" in state or national politics. "Up there you live side by side with those who live off politics."
Madrazo's party -- known by its Spanish initials, PRI -- ruled the country for seven decades until its defeat in 2000 by President Vicente Fox and his National Action Party, or PAN. The PRI has more than $75 million in public campaign funds to spend trying to convince voters that it's no longer the sticky-fingered party that in past years would rig elections and drain public coffers.
Madrazo, meanwhile, is stuck campaigning as the face of Mexico's new leadership while saddled with many of the trappings of the old.
For example, here's how his campaign explains how Madrazo amassed his holdings on a public servant's pay: "His father had all the money in the world," a spokesman said.
The father, Carlos Madrazo, also led a life of public service. He was the former governor of the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco and a PRI party president, two posts later held by his son. He was killed along with his wife in a 1969 plane crash when Roberto Madrazo was a teenager.
A big inheritance could explain how Madrazo was able to attend law school and buy his south Mexico City estate -- named Cave of the Turtles -- before he had turned 30. He declined to be interviewed for this article.
But columnist and political analyst Jose Antonio Crespo, like many others, said Madrazo probably was helped by his wealthy friends.
Early in his career, Madrazo worked as an advisor to Carlos Hank Gonzalez, who before his death in 2001 was a millionaire businessman, PRI political operative and close family friend.
Conservative free-market candidate Felipe Calderon lives in a 2,900-square-foot home around the corner from Pizza Hut, Burger King and Blockbuster, neon-lighted landmarks in Mexico's new global economy.
Roberto Madrazo, candidate of the once-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party, has a 14,000-square-foot home on a 3.6-acre estate overlooking the capital.
All three men have spent their lives in public service, moving between elected office and political party jobs. The annual income for each man barely cracks six figures.
But according to his financial statements, Madrazo has five houses, three 2,800-square-foot condominiums, a Porsche, a BMW, a Ford Expedition, $500,000 in gold and cash and has lent people $250,000 more.
He has a lease-option on a $1-million-plus Miami condo, but everything else is his -- no mortgages, no monthly payments.
Many voters wonder: How the heck did Roberto Madrazo get so rich?
The answers shed little light on Madrazo's financial acumen. But even asking the question says a lot about changes in Mexican politics that threaten to strand Madrazo and the former ruling party he represents.
Polls show Madrazo in third place, with negative ratings double those of his opponents. His campaign appearances draw hecklers. On the street, people roll their eyes at the mention of Madrazo and money. Newspapers speculate on whether he'll be yanked before the July 2 election.
One longtime political historian thinks he knows why.
"Madrazo represents the traditional political class," said Lorenzo Meyer, professor at the Center for International Studies at the College of Mexico.
"In the Mexican traditional political class, most live off politics, not for politics. In that sense, I would say Calderon and Lopez Obrador live for politics," he said.
But, he added, Madrazo "never descended from the high ranks" in state or national politics. "Up there you live side by side with those who live off politics."
Madrazo's party -- known by its Spanish initials, PRI -- ruled the country for seven decades until its defeat in 2000 by President Vicente Fox and his National Action Party, or PAN. The PRI has more than $75 million in public campaign funds to spend trying to convince voters that it's no longer the sticky-fingered party that in past years would rig elections and drain public coffers.
Madrazo, meanwhile, is stuck campaigning as the face of Mexico's new leadership while saddled with many of the trappings of the old.
For example, here's how his campaign explains how Madrazo amassed his holdings on a public servant's pay: "His father had all the money in the world," a spokesman said.
The father, Carlos Madrazo, also led a life of public service. He was the former governor of the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco and a PRI party president, two posts later held by his son. He was killed along with his wife in a 1969 plane crash when Roberto Madrazo was a teenager.
A big inheritance could explain how Madrazo was able to attend law school and buy his south Mexico City estate -- named Cave of the Turtles -- before he had turned 30. He declined to be interviewed for this article.
But columnist and political analyst Jose Antonio Crespo, like many others, said Madrazo probably was helped by his wealthy friends.
Early in his career, Madrazo worked as an advisor to Carlos Hank Gonzalez, who before his death in 2001 was a millionaire businessman, PRI political operative and close family friend.
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Save more than