Mafia fears could force President out of Mexico

[Draggingtree]

smh.com:

 

 

Mafia fears could force President out of Mexico

 

William Booth

 

July 2, 2012

 

 

MEXICO CITY: President Felipe Calderon has been telling guests that he and his family are likely to leave Mexico after his term expires in December. It will be too dangerous to remain, he warns in private conversation, because powerful drug mafias might come after him.

For the commander-in-chief of Mexico's US-backed drug war to suggest he has not provided enough security to live in his country is a stunning revelation - and may be seen as either an admission of failure or evidence of just how hard he has fought and how far Mexico needs to go.

As Mexicans went to the polls yesterday to vote for his successor, Mr Calderon finds his legacy battered, his ruling party unpopular and its standard bearer, Josefina Vazquez Mota, trailing in third place in the pre-election surveys.

Limited to a single six-year term, Mr Calderon remains popular, with ratings hovering about 50 per cent. Yet two of every three Mexicans recently surveyed said the country was headed in the wrong direction. According to a spokesman, Mr Calderon was ''considering a variety of options both at home

 

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