1996-11-20 Local Press - Nonexistence of Ranks
Article Index
Nonexistence of Ranks Under Investigation
The Supreme Court is studying documents showing that ten Mexican banks legally do not exist, because they were privatized outside of the period established by law to do so. In a case in Baja California a couple of weeks ago, a judge ruled in favor of debtors who had argued that the banks were not legally established. Under the Salinas de Gortari administration7 Congress set a 360 day limit for the privatization of banks. Salinas later issued another decree extending the time period, because they had not been privatized in the allotted time. It appears that it was not legal for the President to issue decrees of this nature, and thus, the banks privatized after the allotted time are legally nonexistent.
This has caused a wave of panic among bankers, and hope among debtors who have been fighting the banks for two years. Emiho Krieger, the President of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers, said that it is clear that the decree issued by Salinas was illegal. The question is, what will be done about it? (La Jornada, 15 November)
Car Thefts a Lucrative Business
The number of car thefts in the Federal District rose from 29,342 in 1994 to 56,498 in 1995, an increase of 38%. Officials estimate that the these cars are worth an average of 2.5 billion pesos (320 million) per year. After drug trafficking, car theft is the most lucrative criminal activity in Mexico. (Reforma, 16 November).