The left-wing administration in Mexico City -- which has launched a drive against corruption -- has ordered the arrest of nineteen people suspected of awarding public contracts illegally.

The office of the city's attorney-general said it had found evidence that a twenty-seven-million-dollar contract to run the telephone system had been awarded without being offered for tender.

Seventeen of those wanted for questioning are past or present city officials; the other two were employed by the Swedish company, Ericsson, which got the contract.

Earlier this year, the city authorities filed similar charges over a computer contract against three employees of the US company, IBM.