Mexico Plans New Drive on <i> ‘La Mordida’</i>

To meet complaints about widespread bribery within Mexico’s officialdom, Mexican diplomats in Los Angeles said Friday that telephone hot lines have been established to handle grievances, particularly those involving bribery.

Mario Nunez Mariel, Mexico’s acting consul general in Los Angeles, told reporters that the hot lines in Mexico are part of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari’s determined effort to rid the country of la mordida-- the bribes that officials insist on to conduct everyday business there.

“Bribery is a common practice all over the world, not just in Mexico,” Nunez Mariel said. “We’re just trying to create a new national campaign against corruption.”

In addition to the hot lines, the government has produced nearly 7 million booklets--entitled “Fair Treatment Is Your Right”--to explain what to do in the event a bribe is sought. The booklets will be available at Mexican consulates in the United States, at all ports of entry into Mexico and at airports, bus stations and Mexican customs offices.

The program comes at a time when Mexicans, many of whom work illegally in this country, are returning home for the holidays, flush with U.S. currency that the struggling Mexican economy needs.

Salinas de Gortari is the latest in a succession of Mexican presidents to try to combat corruption. His predecessor, Miguel de la Madrid, vowed a “moral renovation” campaign against corruption, which resulted in highly publicized prosecutions of Jorge Serrano Diaz, a former head of Mexico’s oil monopoly, and Arthur Durazo Moreno, the former police chief of Mexico City.

While both men were convicted and sentenced to prison terms, the most common form of bribery, la mordida, apparently has continued without hindrance.

Mexican and non-Mexican citizens commonly complain that the country’s customs officials routinely ask for $5 to $20 to speed inspections at the U.S. border. At checkpoints in the interior, officials ranging from Mexican federal highway patrol officers to local magistrates reportedly demand bribes for uninterrupted travel.

In some instances, Mexican officials acknowledge, radios, expensive clothing, jewelry and other valuables are confiscated from Mexicans returning from the United States because corrupt officials insist that these people do not have proper documents to prove ownership.

“With this campaign, I hope this will now change,” Nunez Mariel said.

Officials of the Mexican attorney general’s office will staff the telephone hot lines, officials said. In Mexico City, the number is 604-12-40. Elsewhere in Mexico, the number is 91-800-00-148.

While officials in the Mexican Consulate expressed optimism about the new effort, those outside waiting in long, winding lines near Olvera Street to get visas laughed openly at the program’s prospects.

In a contemptuous tone, Josefina Alvarez said, “The last time I went home to Michoacan, I had to give those inspection liars a CD (compact disc player) to get through.”