Carlos Salinas de Gortari, the former president of Mexico (Reuters)

By John Ward Anderson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, February 1, 1997; Page A18

Former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Mexico's favorite villain, has been staring impishly from the front pages of the country's newspapers this week, conquering the headlines, owning the airwaves, dominating the conversation, commanding the country's attention.

The reason for such attention? A three-part series in Reforma and El Norte newspapers in which Salinas said little that was new or surprising. But it took him nearly eight pages to say it.

No matter.

The point was that Salinas finally broke his silence after fleeing Mexico in disgrace two years ago following the country's economic collapse and his brother's jailing on charges that he murdered a top politician and amassed unexplained millions in secret bank accounts.

That Salinas – who after two years of negative publicity has been transformed from national hero to evil incarnate – said anything broke an unwritten code of silence usually observed by ex-presidents here. And it finally gave Mexicans a concrete target upon which to focus their rage, their paranoia – even, perhaps for some who would probably never admit it, their lingering adulation.

In the few bits of substance that emerged from the interview, Salinas said:

His brother Raul is innocent of murder and is being persecuted by Mexico's criminal justice system. Salinas said he does not know the source of the $120 million in Raul's secret Swiss bank accounts, but that if it is illegal, it ought to be seized. While president, he probably should have kept closer tabs on his brother, the former president acknowledged.

He never expected that the peso devaluation that followed his leaving office – and triggered Mexico's financial crisis – would be so large and so abrupt. It was Salinas's successor as president, Ernesto Zedillo, who took action to devalue the currency shortly after taking office in late 1994, but most Mexicans blame Salinas for creating the circumstances that lead to its collapse.

He had had excellent relations with two politicians who were assassinated late in his term. Polls show most Mexicans believe he played a role in their murders.

A "conspiracy" of anti-reformers tried to force him to nominate someone of their ilk to be his successor.

He will return.

It may not have been much, but it was enough to transfix Mexico, particularly his last MacArthuresque proclamation, which was arguably the least newsworthy, given the controversies embroiling Salinas and his brother.

It is a cliche to say that Salinas is the person Mexicans most love to hate, but, like the scene of a nasty car crash, he simultaneously repels and attracts his countrymen. They blame him for everything, but they cannot get enough of him.

Hugely popular Salinas dolls – with their unmistakable bald head, oversized ears and black mustache – are perhaps most illustrative of the fascination with and demonizing of the former president. There is a Salinas rat. A Salinas in prison stripes (particularly popular with street corner vendors). A kneeling samurai Salinas. A gladiator named Justice holding the distinctive Salinas head in one hand, a bloodied sword in the other.

Many analysts said the interview was an obvious attempt by Salinas, who now lives in Ireland, to rehabilitate his reputation.

Some went further, claiming that Salinas was planning a return to politics – a career move he specifically ruled out in the interview – and was trying to spring his brother from jail.

"They are preparing a triumphant return of the `Salinistas' [Salinas supporters] through his unchecked public exoneration," said Felipe Calderon, president of the main opposition National Action Party.

"Ex-President in Exile `Is Plotting Raul's Freedom,' " screamed a headline in the Mexico City Times.

The alarmist tone further illustrates that even in exile, Salinas remains a potent political force here. With mid-term elections scheduled for July, opposition politicians would prefer that the public continue to associate Salinas and his administration's legacy of alleged corruption with the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party. Such an association could damage the party at the polls.

Readers also devoured the interview because it is relatively unusual for Mexican presidents to bare their souls publicly after leaving office. Then again, rarely has a Mexican president been so vilified in retirement.

"The informal rules of the game stipulate that the ex-presidents in Mexico do not speak out, and in return their successor turns a blind eye to any real or alleged wrongdoing by them, their family or their team," said George Grayson, an expert on Mexican politics at the College of William and Mary.

"This rule has been bent so it looks like a pretzel because former presidents have felt the hot breath of moral renovation programs, and their successors are under pressure to clean up the government," he said.

"Now, there's no quid pro quo for remaining silent."