Arturo Montiel

Arturo Montiel

Arturo Montiel Rojas (b. October 15, 1943 in Atlacomulco, State of México) is a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He is a former governor of the State of México and a former federal deputy.

Montiel is the son of Gregorio Montiel Monroy and Delia Rojas García. He received bachelor's degrees in public administration and accountancy from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1970. He married Maude Versini in 2002, a French journalist 31 years younger than he was. They divorced in September 2007.

As a politician, he has been the mayor of Naucalpan and director of civil protection at the federal Ministry of the Interior. At the state level he has been secretary of economic development and has presided twice over the local branch of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

In 1999, during his gubernatorial campaign for the State of Mexico, he portrayed himself as a tough-on-crime candidate, using a series of controversial radio spots in which he implied that criminals did not deserve human rights protection, saying "human rights are for humans, not for rats" ("rat" being common slang for "thief"). He won the election by simple majority and served from 1999 until 2005.

On August 4, 2005, he as elected as candidate of Unidad Democrática, a political group challenging former PRI leader Roberto Madrazo for the party's candidacy for the 2006 presidential election. However, in a press conference held on October 20, he announced that he would no longer be seeking his party's nomination because of accusations levamily in the media, which include the property of several luxury apartments and mansions in Mexico and France.

As of mid-January 2006, he has been acquitted of corruption charges, despite strong evidence against him.

Strong evidence suggests that Mr. Montiel and his sons created a personal fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars by corrupt and illegal means, such as use of public funds for private purposes, and traffic of influences. Mr. Montiel charges have been systematically unrecognized by the government of his successor, which is said to have been designated by Mr. Montiel.

Among other businesses he granted construction of more than 5000 homes in a ecologically preserved community in the municipality of Atiazapan de Zaragoza, "Zona Esmeralda". The construction of these new communities gave entry to new shopping malls and schools urbanizing what used to be green areas and forests.

Allegations of Murder

According to Chilango magazine, he may have been responsible for the murder of Mario Palacios, an Argentinian table tennis instructor, who was having an affair with his wife. He is also accused of beating his wife. ^[1]

The Governor's Uncle

Among Mr. Montiel's family is the current governor of the State of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, who is widely touted as the heir apparent to the presidency in 2012. A stalwart PRIista, Peña Nieto has well-organized support including powerful Televisa as witnessed by his recent "informe", or annual condition of the state speech. Peña Nieto was afforded national prime time coverage in an event that was scripted to parallel the President's State of the Union address.

External links

• (Spanish) Official site of Arturo Montiel (unavailable)
• (Spanish) México State Government: Arturo Montiel (unavailable)

References

1. ^ Osorno, Diego Enrique (February, 2009). "Muerte Súbita". Chilango, pp. 37-47

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Name	Montiel, Arturo
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Date of birth	October 15, 1943
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