Odds lengthen on
Creel candidacy for Mexican president
By Kenneth
Emmond
Santiago Creel had not even formally launched his
bid to become the National Action Party (PAN) presidential candidate in Mexico’s elections next year when he shot himself
in the foot.
The foot is not a vital organ but this shot could
prove fatal, politically speaking.
Less than a week before he resigned as Interior
Secretary, Creel’s department issued permits to several firms, allowing them to open a total of 176 betting parlors
throughout Mexico. One company, Apuestos Internacionales, S.A. de C.V., got 65 of those licenses.
That was one bet Creel is sure to lose — if
in fact it was a bet and not an innocent blunder. That’s still not clear and perhaps never will be.
Apuestos Internacionales is a subsidiary of Televisa,
Mexico’s largest television network. Past experience suggests that betting parlors are moneymaking machines.
The permits allow each betting parlor to set up an
electronic network with terminals in remote centers, so a limited number of centers can be parlayed into a nationwide macro-network
of betting shops. The licenses remain in force for 25 years, with the possibility of a 15-year extension.
Always ready to think the worst, Creel’s political
enemies, along with some incurable skeptics in the news media, have already concluded that the former Interior Secretary was
setting himself up for some positive media coverage by arranging a quid pro quo with the television network.
As recently as April 19, Creel said his department
had no applications pending for betting parlor permits. The biggest beneficiary of the spate of new permits, Apuestos Internacionales,
didn’t even exist until April of this year.
Another curious element is that this inordinate number
of permits was issued in the midst of a still-undecided constitutional case before the Supreme Court relating to gaming regulations.
Creel maintains that everything was done according
to law, and that he was merely “democratizing” gaming in Mexico.
“You should be investigating the PRI (Institutional
Revolutionary Party), to find out why it gave out so few permits despite its powers of discretion, creating a monopoly,”
he said.
He added that this type of decision is made at a
lower level, in this case by Ezequiel Gonzàlez, the ministry’s general director of Management of Gaming and Raffles.
Creel’s deputy secretary, Felipe Gonzàlez, stepped in to say he was responsible for granting the permits. No doubt we
will be hearing from them in the weeks to come.
PRI members say Creel committed a criminal offense
by exceeding his ministerial discretion — however that has yet to be defined. The party used its majority in the Chamber
of Deputies to create a 12-person all-party commission to look into the issue.
Though it would seem plausible to complete this type
of investigation within a few weeks, the PRI plans to keep the kettle simmering much longer. The commission will report its
findings to Congress April 30, 2006.
Last week Creel was called before the PAN’s
National Executive Committee to clarify things. Senator Marco Antonio Adame said later the party accepted his explanation.
The Interior Secretariat and Mexico’s Attorney
General have launched their own internal inquiries, ensuring that this will be one of the most investigated actions of 2005.
Whatever the outcome of those inquiries, Creel is
certain to come out a loser.
If something emerges that is akin to influence peddling
or exceeding ministerial discretion in granting the licenses, Creel could be subject to criminal charges.
Since no one can run for elected office when facing
criminal charges, the legal fallout could render him constitutionally ineligible to be a candidate.
The implications for Creel are stark. Does any party
want to select a candidate who might be declared ineligible weeks before the July 2, 2006, election?
If the investigation uncovers nothing illegal, public
perception of him as something of a sneak and a shady dealer will remain. This is bound to cost him support both within the
party and, if he wins the nomination and remains free of criminal charges next April, at the voting booth in July.
Even if he lives down the prospect of criminal charges
and the negative image, he will end up looking more like a bumbler than someone capable of managing the daily intricacies
of the ship of state. That may be unfair, but who says politics are fair?
At worst Creel has imperiled his ability to stand
as a candidate, and at best he has shot himself in the foot and will spend the next ten months campaigning with a limp.
——————————
Kenneth Emmond, an economist, market consultant and
journalist who has lived in Mexico since 1995, is also a columnist with MexiData.info.
He can be reached via e-mail at Kemmond00@yahoo.com.
