Word: serranos
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...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...
...general's remarks came as a surprise to a high-level Guatemalan delegation that was visiting the U.S. Jorge Serrano, president of Ríos Montt's advisory Council of State, had assured a U.S. audience that an election date would be announced no later than March 1984 and that voting would probably take place the following June. Ríos Montt's reversal was "incomprehensible," said a member of the visiting delegation. "I don't know what the President had in mind...