Oscar Espinosa Villareal, a former Mexico City mayor who is accused
of pilfering some US$45 million in public funds during his term, was
sitting in a Nicaraguan jail at press time, awaiting extradition.
Espinosa had been on the lam for months, but recently showed up in
Managua, Nicaragua, asking
for political asylum. President Vicente
Fox's Foreign Relations Secretariat requested that Nicaraguan
authorities detain Espinosa, however, so he could face justice in
Mexico. Although Espinosa is not the first Mexican official to flee the
country under accusations of corruption (remember former Quintana Roo
Governor Carlos Villanueva?), he could be the first official to face
trial, signifying a new spirit of accountability in Mexican politics.