Arturo Montiel
Encyclopedia
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
(PRI). He is a former governor of the State of México
Mexico (state)
México , officially: Estado Libre y Soberano de México is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of the United Mexican States. It is divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Toluca de Lerdo....
and a former federal deputy
Chamber of Deputies of Mexico
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Congress of the Union, Mexico's bicameral legislature. The structure and responsibilities of both chambers of Congress are defined in Articles 50 to 70 of the current constitution.-Composition:The Chamber of Deputies is composed of one federal...
.
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
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
(UNAM) in 1970. He married Maude Versini in 2002, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
journalist 31 years younger than he was. They divorced in September 2007.
As a politician, he has been the mayor of Naucalpan
Naucalpan
Naucalpan, officially Naucalpan de Juárez, is a city and municipality located just northwest of Mexico City in adjoining Mexico State. The name Naucalpan comes from Nahuatl and means “place of the four neighborhoods or four houses. “de Juárez was added to the official name in 1874 in honor of...
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
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
(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
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
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
Roberto Madrazo
Roberto Madrazo Pintado is a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party . He was the candidate of the alliance between his party and the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico in the 2006 Mexican presidential election.Madrazo was born in Villahermosa, Tabasco to Carlos A....
for the party's candidacy for the 2006 presidential election
Mexican general election, 2006
A general election was held in Mexico on Sunday, July 2, 2006. Voters went to the polls to elect, on the federal level:*A new President of the Republic to serve a six-year term, replacing then Mexican President Vicente Fox .*500 members to serve for a...
. 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
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan 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.