Mexico to challenge state laws that could protect governors

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s federal government will file challenges with the country’s Supreme Court against laws enacted in two states that purport to be anti-corruption, officials said Monday.

State congresses in the eastern states of Veracruz and Quintana Roo have in recent weeks passed laws or adjusted existing ones that they say will help combat corruption. But critics have said the changes are intended to protect their outgoing governors from prosecution.

Federal Deputy Attorney General Salvador Sandoval said Monday that the state laws contravene a national anti-corruption system. Critics have said the laws would allow the naming of anti-corruption prosecutors loyal to the outgoing governors.

Both governors are from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, which lost both states in June elections. President Enrique Pena Nieto has been accused by critics of not being committed to fighting corruption.

Veracruz Gov. Javier Duarte reacted to the federal challenge by saying he would urge state lawmakers to call off the search for a missing anti-corruption prosecutor.