Anti-corruption push key to economic growth in Mexico

[MEXICO CITY] Better economic prospects for Mexico depend on a concerted push to end corruption in the country, the governor of the central bank said in an interview published on Wednesday.

"The (Mexican) society's demand is for the rule of law, legal certainty and an end to corruption," Agustin Carstens said in an interview with leading daily newspaper Reforma.

Mr Carstens said the urgency for the current anti-corruption push mirrors a push to tame rampant inflation a generation ago.

"This is the issue that we need to solve in order to close the circle and really have a much better economic performance," he said.

Corruption is shaping up to be a key issue in next year's presidential election, with opinion polls showing President Enrique Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) faces a serious risk of being voted out of office.

Mr Carstens is due to leave the central bank next month to take the top job at the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements, cutting short a tenure meant to have lasted until 2021.

REUTERS