Word: az
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...have been a particularly fertile breeding ground for vice. Since coming to office last year, De la Madrid has pursued a vigorous "moral renovation" campaign aimed at stemming the high-level graft that was rampant in Mexico. Last July a judge had former Pemex Director Jorge Díaz Serrano arrested on a $34 million fraud charge. Contrary to custom, Díaz Serrano was not bailed out by political friends, but still sits in Mexico City's Southern Penitentiary, awaiting trial...
...months as President, however, De la Madrid has been criticized for moving slowly against suspect members of the administration of his predecessor, José Lopez Portillo, whose government was widely regarded as corrupt. Last week, in a move that created a nationwide sensation, the government accused Jorge Díaz Serrano, 63, former head of the state oil monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), and the "architect" of Mexico's oil boom, of corruption. The charge: defrauding Pemex of $34 million in connection with the purchase of two Belgian natural gas tankers...
...lifelong friend of the former President's, Díaz Serrano was once considered a possible successor to Lopez Portillo. As a wealthy oil contractor in the 1960s and '70s, he had at one time been in partnership with Vice President George Bush in the Houston-based Zapata Oil Co. Later, after Lopez Portillo appointed him to be director-general of Pemex, Díaz Serrano guided the huge oil exploration program that, in just five years, made Mexico the world's fourth largest oil producer...
...Pemex chief, the flamboyant Díaz Serrano often dealt bluntly with the U.S. As he once put it, "We aim to deal with the U.S. according to our program of energy." In 1978, while he was running Pemex, Mexico abruptly canceled a natural gas sale after the U.S. refused to meet the Pemex price. In June 1981, after the worldwide oil glut had forced Mexico to lower its export price, Díaz Serrano suddenly resigned from his Pemex post after his enemies charged that he had not cleared the price cut with Lopez Portillo...
Last week's announcement astounded Mexican politicians, not only because of Díaz Serrano's prominence but also because of his closeness to Lopez Portillo. Many Mexicans saw the move as an indication that De la Madrid would press similar charges against other members of the former administration. The word in Mexico City, however, is that the new government has decided at the "highest level" not to press for any legal action against Lopez Portillo himself...