Heavy fine for Mexico's PRI

Heavy fine for Mexico's PRI

By Elva Narcia
BBC correspondent in Mexico City

Party leader Roberto Madrazo says the fine will wipe out funds

Mexico's former governing Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) has been fined up to $90m for campaign finance violations in the 2000 presidential election.

The party was accused of receiving money from the state petroleum company and using it to finance its election campaign.

Despite the extra funds, the party lost the election - its first defeat since 1929.

Until its presidential candidate was defeated three years ago, the PRI was virtually untouchable during the 70 years it ruled Mexico.

'Unthinkable'

The idea of it being penalised for electoral malpractice would have been unthinkable.

But on Friday, the finance committee of the Federal Electoral Institute decided, by eight votes to one, to impose the multi-million dollar fine.

It concluded that the PRI had received $45m in illegal contributions from the state-owned oil company Pemex.

That money, it said, was paid by the company to the oil workers' union, which in turn handed it over to the PRI.

President Fox's campaign finances are also under investigation

The party has denied any wrongdoing, and said it would appeal against the ruling.

The party's leader, Roberto Madrazo, said that such a fine would wipe out its public financing for the rest of the year and cripple it in hundreds of campaigns, big and small, including the congressional mid-term elections in July.

Mr Madrazo accused the leaders of the independent electoral institute of punishing the PRI at the instigation of President Vicente Fox whose campaign finances are also under investigation.

Mr Fox has denied influencing either of the investigations.